The Portkey Of Castile
by ClassySam
Summary: Draco and Jade’s lives are in mortal danger after Draco tries to send Jade away a few centuries back with the Portkey of Castile. The only ones to have survived from the Portkey of Castile were Dumbledore and Grindelwald, But would Draco and Jade survive?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! I'm back with a new story...duh. I wanted to post this story first mainly because I was way too excited for everyone to see this one, so the other story can wait. I have to warn all of you though, this story isn't finished yet but you will get your chapters quickly because I am almost done! I had a blast with the last story and I was so excited to see that it was so well loved and well received from (most of) you! Enjoy this one, and please review! Hope everyone is doing well!**

**Introducing the newest to my brood of stories..."The Portkey of Castile"  
**

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"Don't bother to write to us when you get there. Go on, I have nothing else to say to you." Jade's stepmother said turning her nose on the 17 year old who couldn't wait to get away from her either.

_'Not like I have anything to write to you about.'_ Jade thought venomously.

Jade turned to her stepbrothers who had made her entire summer into a living nightmare.

"Goodbye." Jade said seeing them narrow their eyes at her. Jade was a muggle born witch whose muggle parents had died long ago. Jade's mother died the year that she was admitted into Hogwarts and her father remarried just two years later to non magical real life witch. It reminded her of the muggle children's story Cinderella, only her life had yet to have a happy ending and a stupid fairy Godmother.

"I'll try not to miss you." Jade said pushing her trolley towards Platform 9 ¾. Her brothers went to advance on her for her sly comment but their mother held them back.

"No use of making a scene before she leaves, let her go, we'll deal with her when she comes back next summer." Jade's stepmother Callista said sharply.

Jade went to make a run towards the wall. As she started running, she felt another cart run into hers, sending her to fall and her poor owl Ivi. "No! Ivi!" Jade yelled, scrambling towards her owl who banged her wings against the cage, feeling caught off guard from the sudden impact. Jade went to look up to see the imbecile who had ran her cart with theirs and saw Draco Malfoy smirking at her, shaking his head.

Lucius Malfoy appeared by his side and shook his head, clicking his teeth. "My, my Draco…you have to be careful sometimes. Mudbloods are not only filthy, they're vision is just as full of filth just as their blood is." Lucius said coolly, turning around to see Jade's stepbrothers cackling quietly behind him.

Jade watched them turn back around and disappear into the wall and Jade helped herself up, picking up Ivi and her belongings.

"I'd like to send him flowers for that. Truly brilliant." One of her stepbrothers, Andrew said.

Jade smirked and put everything in place. "Yes, I'm sure you'd like to. After all, you snogging your best friend Walter in your room while you thought no one was watching, you'd like to experiment a little bit more don't you?" Jade asked seeing his mouth drop. Jade turned around and made a full fledge run into the wall and disappeared, satisfied and a little bruised from the fall that occurred not too long ago. Jade appeared in front of the Hogwarts Express and wasted no time. She took her trunk and her owl and boarded just a minute early before the train had started to leave.

When Jade boarded her owl and trunk into the storage, she walked throughout the train, knowing that it was impossible to find a compartment by herself, which she had started to prefer two years ago. Before that, Jade would usually always find Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny but after an awkward relationship with Harry, Jade preferred not to see him at _all_, especially the girl he was currently dating; Ginny Weasley. As Jade looked through compartments, she heard a couple of students coming behind her. She squeezed towards the side of the wall to let them pass but was knocked by the shoulder, making her stumble forwards and scowl at Draco Malfoy who sneered at her with the rest of his group.

"Watch where you're going Malfoy." Jade growled.

She was getting impatient with his childish antics with her. From her brothers and stepmother who had done worse to Jade, getting treated by Malfoy was incredibly annoying. She saw him cock his eyebrow at her and walk forward as Crabbe and Goyle started rolling their sleeves up.

"Watch where I'm going? What are you going to do if I don't?" he asked a few inches away from her.

Jade's hands curled up. She was ready to punch his face in if she had to. Either way, Draco Malfoy was going to be disfigured before Crabbe and Goyle would get to her. "Leave me alone for your own good Malfoy." Jade warned him.

He grinned evilly and faked fear in front of her. "Oh no! Harper's warning _me_ to back off?" he asked.

Jade heard Pansy snicker and she quickly looked back at Malfoy who picked up a hand and pushed her shoulder, testing her.

"Come on…hit me." He said, enjoying to see her fire up.

"Don't touch me." Jade said stumbling back.

"Why not? Where's your tough cocky self now?" Malfoy asked pushing her shoulder again.

"_Don't touch me_!" Jade said firmly.

Malfoy picked up both hands and shoved both her shoulders, pushing her to the floor. Before Jade sprang up and blasted his testes off, she heard Harry behind her.

"Hey!" Harry barked. She turned her head as she started to pick herself up and felt Harry's arms lift her. "Leave her the bloody hell alone Malfoy." Harry said stepping in between Malfoy and Jade.

Malfoy backed off and smirked. "Pitying your pathetic ex girlfriend Potter? How cute to see that." Draco said seeing Harry push Jade gently back.

"There won't be anything cute about your face if I hear you bother her again the next time. You better leave her alone Malfoy." Harry warned.

"Let's go Draco. I feel nauseous even standing near that Mudblood." Pansy said pulling his arm.

Without another word, Draco turned around and left, glaring at both Harry and Jade who glared back at him. As Jade watched the Slytherins leave, Harry turned around and asked her if she was all right.

"I'm fine." Jade said quietly, feeling her heart start to pick up its pace. He gave her a small smile and looked like he went to touch her but thought for the better of it.

"It's nice to see you after a long summer." He said seeing her nod. They stood in front of each other, unsure of what to say any further. "Where's Hermione and Ron?" Jade asked seeing him move his body toward the other side of the train.

"There, in the compartment. Come." Harry said jerking his thumb towards his compartment. Jade followed him towards his compartment and walked in when he opened it for her.

"Hey." Jade said seeing Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna and Neville look up.

"Jade! We were just talking about you!" Hermione said getting up and hugging Jade who hugged her back.

"How was your summer?" Jade asked taking a seat next to Luna who gave Jade a pleasant smile and said hello.

"I spent a lot of my time in the Burrow. My parents took a few weeks off and we went to Australia…" Hermione chattered off.

Jade smiled and nodded at her as she spoke and she looked around to see Ron sitting next to her, watching her speak. Jade's eyes traveled to Harry and Ginny who held hands, smiling as they were whispering to each other. Jade suddenly felt nauseous to be sitting in the same compartment while they looked so happy and affectionate together. She had never gotten over Harry and those few months they had spent together after he broke things off with Cho. She had always felt comfortable around Harry and always liked him since they had entered school. Jade felt that they related the most by being raised without parents and having relatives that treated them like the mice that live in their home. She had fallen for him quite hard and never seemed to grow out of it.

Jade caught Harry's eyes flicker towards her as Ginny was trying to explain something important to him. Jade's heart spiked and she felt for a moment, unsafe. Images of that terrible night tried to force itself for Jade to watch. Jade desperately tried to suppress her memory of what happened. Every time she thought of that night, it would only weaken her. She didn't want to be reminded of the physical and mental pain that she had endured that night. She knew it wasn't Harry's fault. He woke up the next morning and expressed how sorry he was and Jade forgave him. The damage was already done and to Harry, the relationship had ended right there and then.

He admitted to her at the first month of 6th year that he didn't see her the way she did and hoped that they would continue to be friends. Jade had to let him go, no matter how much she wanted him; he didn't feel for her the same way. For a few weeks, she had felt that he was testing himself, but was shocked down to her bones when he saw him run right up to Ginny and kiss her when she had won the Gryffindor Quidditch Cup.

"So how was your summer Jade?" Luna asked to Jade who had drifted off.

"Oh…my summer was pretty uneventful. Nothing really happened." Jade said shrugging to Luna who nodded with wide silver eyes. "But you probably had a great summer?" Jade asked getting Luna to open about her summer that seemed more interesting and less pathetic than Jade's.

Jade didn't really attempt to speak much while she was with everyone. The ride to Hogwarts was only the worse part, along with having to go back to the house where her stepmother and her two obnoxious and thickheaded sons infiltrated. Jade tried as hard as she could to not retaliate in any way she could but sometimes, she couldn't keep her temper in check.

Throughout most of the summer, her brothers would irritate her to death or plainly try to kill her in any way they could. Jade remembered having a fit when she had seen a rattlesnake on her stomach when she had woken up in the morning. Jade resented the fact that she wasn't allowed to use magic and her so called family knew it all too well and were grateful that she did. She'd try to spend her time away from the house but always came back to find out that some kind of personal item had been thrown out, burnt or had gone missing.

Jade walked into the Great Hall and immediately felt at ease when she had smelled the aroma of the food that was going to present itself soon. She sat next to Hermione and smiled, talking to the new Head Girl whose eyes were shining from receiving the title.

"Did you find out who the Head Boy was?" Jade asked seeing Hermione shake her head.

"They've only informed me that I was given the Head Girl title. I have a slight belief that it'll be Ernie Macmillan. Otherwise I wouldn't know of anyone else." Hermione told Jade who shrugged.

She really didn't care who was Head Boy, as long as it wasn't some jerk that would willingly take points off for the heck of it. She hoped that it would be Ernie, he was decent enough but Jade wished that it were to be Harry. No one was as noble and just as Harry was. Jade let out a small sigh and turned to Dumbledore's speech that turned out to be surprisingly short.

"All right, let's get down to business." Ron said rubbing his hands together.

"Before the feast, I'd like to congratulate our Head Boy and Head Girl for the year. Will Miss Hermione Granger and Mr. Draco Malfoy please stand?" Dumbledore asked.

Three quarters of the Great Hall had gasped and Jade could feel everyone else's shock and spirits start to sink. This year was going to be much like the rest of the years but much worse. Draco Malfoy being Head Boy, Jade would rather have Filch to proctor her every detention. She looked over to see Draco Malfoy standing up, smirking as his fellow Slytherins clapped and cheered for him. He looked around the entire Great Hall, telling each and every single one of them that there was hell to pay.


	2. Chapter 2

Jade woke up the next morning and saw that Hermione and Ginny were still sleeping. She took her clothes and went into the bathroom to take a shower and when she got out; she saw Hermione and Ginny starting to get ready.

"Morning Jade." Ginny said cheerily as she entered the bathroom.

"Morning." Jade replied.

She looked at Hermione who pulled up her socks and shoes. "So Jade…" Hermione said making Jade cringe.

This was one of those 'Harry and Ginny's talks again.

"Yes Hermione?" Jade asked trying to seem as if she weren't at all perturbed by their relationship. Jade fixed her hair and tied it up into a bun.

"Is everything all right? You're not uncomfortable with Harry and Ginny being together are you? I can always-"

"Relax Herm. I'm absolutely fine. Everyone has the right to be with whoever they want and certainly do whatever they please. Don't pity me Hermione…I'm not at all bothered by them at all, but thanks for the concern. I'll see you downstairs in breakfast." Jade said leaving.

When Jade walked into the Great Hall, she sat with Harry and Ron who spoke about what classes they would probably be getting. Jade didn't know what to feel when she found out that she wasn't having a few classes without Harry. She too thought Divination was nonsense and crap so she took on Arithmacy with McGonagall's permission. She didnt know whether to be happy that she wasnt going to have to see him or put down that he wasnt going to be there for her to watch.

The entire day, people had been busy with trying to get familiar with their classes and where they would be attending classes and what were the best routes they could take without getting late. Jade had everything figured out and was quite content that all her classes weren't that far apart. For a few days Jade had slipped in and out of classes and spent her time studying with Hermione. However not all days were lucky enough for Jade who had gotten late by none other than the Head Boy himself, Draco Malfoy.

"Hold it!" Malfoy said holding out his arm, preventing Jade from walking on any further.

"Malfoy, I have a Transfiguration quiz today, catch me later." Jade said going to move but he moved to block her again.

"Too bad for that, you're just going to have to miss that quiz." He said entertaining himself into seeing the fury that started to grow on her face.

"Tell me my crime and punishment and let me leave!" Jade almost shouted.

"Are you yelling at the Head Boy?" Draco asked narrowing his eyes mockingly at Jade, seeing her look at him in astonishment.

"You're so full of shit! Just because you've gotten the Head Boy title, you're just abusing it left and right aren't you?" Jade asked furiously seeing him clench his jaw.

"Listen Harper-"

"I have a Transfiguration quiz, thank you for wasting my time on your bullshitting." Jade said going to leave but heard him order her to stop. Jade didn't listen. He was no one to tell her to stop her from going to class. Just because he was Head Boy, he was going to get everything he wanted?

_'Well he better enjoy disappointment, that git is going to eat a lot of it from me.'_ Jade thought, quickening her pace.

Suddenly, her legs locked and Jade fell face first on to the ground, feeling her chin and nose suffer dearly from the impact. Jade groaned feeling tears spring to her eyes and she rubbed it vigorously to alleviate the pain. She turned around to see him walking towards her with his wand out. Jade quickly whipped out her wand and threw a hex at Malfoy, seeing him block it.

"Not so quick are you?" he asked pointing his wand at her.

"Well I can't…not when you're cheating." Jade said still lying on the floor.

He smirked and went to throw another hex at her but Jade had other ideas. "_Protego_!" Jade shouted, shielding herself. She swiftly then kicked her foot right into Malfoy's crotch and got up to save herself. He let out a breathless yelp and crumble into the ground from the pain. She knew it was a cheap shot but she had to play fairly. If he cheated, she'd cheat too. Jade took her bag and started to run down the hallway.

Jade made it to her Transfiguration class just in time for the quiz. She was absolutely flushed from running and the fight that she had put up with Malfoy.

"Miss Harper are you all right?" McGonagall asked and Jade nodded.

"I'm fine, just ran to class, that's all." Jade said as McGonagall set a quiz paper down for Jade.

"Make sure it doesn't happen again." She said and Jade nodded.

Jade took out a quill and some ink and started on her quiz. About a half an hour later, Jade had been finished along with everyone else who had started to hand in their papers. McGonagall took them all in and started to proceed with her lesson.

"Now for today's lesson we-yes Severus?" McGonagall asked seeing Snape standing in the doorway with Draco Malfoy who had a torn shirt, his hair was mussed and there was what looked like blood coming from his mouth. He met eyes with Jade who was puzzled to see him in this state. He should have still been dying in pain from the way she kicked him, it wasn't a merciful kick, it was a brutal kick.

"Minerva I need to speak to Miss Jade Harper for a moment." Snape said.

Jade turned to Minerva who looked at Jade."Cant it wait Severus?" Minerva asked.

"I'm afraid it cannot. You see, the students from your House need punishment more than they deserve a school lesson on Transfiguration." Snape said looking at Jade who flared her nostrils at him and Malfoy.

"I didn't do anything at all. If anything it should-"

"That's what they all say. Get up Harper; you're going to be questioned." Snape said seeing Jade stand up and slam her books together.

"Gladly." Jade said starting to leave. Jade walked out of the classroom and into the hallway where Snape stood with Draco next to him.

"Miss Harper you are going to be serving a week's worth of detention for assaulting the Head Boy of Hogwarts. Not to mention 100 points to be taken away." Snape said seeing Jade's mouth drop.

"You've got to be joking! This…he's a liar!" Jade shouted pointing to Draco who glared at her. "He attacked _me_! He used the leg locking hex on me and-"

"But you did physically attacked him didn't you?" Snape asked.

"Not the way you're trying to put it, I only-"

"Did you or did you not make physical contact with Mr. Malfoy?" Snape asked.

"Yes but-"

"Then that's settled. The truth will always prevail. Off to your class now Miss Harper and your detention starts from tonight exactly at 6." Severus said seeing Jade look bewildered.

"You can't do that! Quidditch tryouts start at 6!" Jade said seeing the satisfaction come across their faces. She wanted to even aim a kick at Snape's pride and jewels…if he had any by chance and break Malfoy's bones.

"I want to take this up to the Headmaster's attention." Jade said trying to calm herself down. If she went ballistic and screamed at them, no one would take her seriously.

Draco's smirk grew pronounced by hearing Jade's plea and Jade only knew that she was about to receive bad news. Snape spoke for Draco's smirk.

"Dumbledore has left Hogwarts for an important cause. I don't think you'll benefit much anyways. In the Dungeons at 6 o clock sharp Harper." Snape said.

With that, he left, telling Malfoy to come with him. Malfoy went to leave but left only after giving Jade a hard glare and evil grin.

"Miss Harper? What's happened? Why did Professor Snape ask you to step out?" McGonagall asked seeing Jade turn around, grinding her teeth in rage.

"It doesn't matter anymore Professor. I just wanted to tell you that Draco Malfoy is a bloody git and Snape's a greased up snake that has nothing better to do but to make innocent people's lives difficult." Jade hissed. She snapped around and walked away hearing McGonagall try to call her and to tell her to come back.

Jade was too angry to do absolutely anything. If she was going to go to charms, she was definitely going to blast someone off. She decided to skip Charms and sit in the Gryffindor common room to finish her homework since she was having detention. Harry was going to be so disappointed…would he even care? It wouldn't make a difference to him if she made tried out for this year's Quidditch tryouts. She loved to play Quidditch, especially when he was the Seeker.

She looked through her essay and started to proofread; hearing the common room door open and a handful of students start to enter.

"Jade! Where did you go? You missed Charms." Hermione said sitting next to Jade, taking off her bag from her shoulder.

"Nothing gets past you does it Hermione? What did Snape want?" Harry asked flopping on the couch.

Jade's scowl only deepened and she turned horribly red.

"Yeah what did you do to Malfoy? He looked like Crabbe and Goyle tried to eat him." Ron grinned sitting on the opposite side of Harry.

"I didn't do anything to him…not yet at least. I'm so close to snapping his head off." Jade said shoving her books back into her bag.

"What happened?" Harry asked suddenly sitting up and leaning over.

Jade turned around to look at him and wanted very much for him to hug her. She needed some kind of support for all this injustice and madness. "Snape gave me a week's worth of detention for allegedly attacking him. That slimy git stopped me on my way to Transfiguration-"

"Which explains the lateness." Hermione quipped.

"And he tried to show how tough and privileged he was from being Head Boy. He stopped me from nothing and I tried to be polite and walk away but he used a Leg-Locking curse on me, while my back was turned-"

"Typical Malfoy move." Ron said.

"And he tried to hex me again but I went ahead and kicked him in the…you know…there and ran away. That's all I did, I swear and the next thing I know, he arrives with his ripped shirt, some blood in his mouth, looking as if he'd just come back from snogging some bloody werewolf or something." Jade spat. She crossed her arms and fell back against the bottom of the sofa.

"But that's completely unfair! He didn't even take it up to Dumbledore!" Hermione said seeing Jade snarl.

"I told him that but leave it to my luck that Dumbledore had to leave the castle for a few days to attend some bloody important work." Jade said seeing them look incredibly sorry for her.

"Well you can always tell him when he comes back. I'm sure he'll love to strip that title off of Malfoy's head." Ron said seeing Jade shake her head.

"He has Snape with him. I'm sure he'll find some clever way to put all of this stuff on me so I might as well just get through this and hope to never see Malfoy cross my path again…otherwise expulsion for me wouldn't be very far away from me." Jade said hearing Hermione gasp.

"You shouldn't talk like that! Expelled?! That's the worst thing that could ever happen to someone." Hermione said shaking her head.

"We have to head down to the Quidditch pitch. We have 15 minutes to reach there." Harry said checking his watch. He got up and told Jade to get up and join him.

Jade merely glowered and when he turned around and asked what was wrong with her, Jade told him.

"Snape gave me detention tonight…exactly the time of the Quidditch tryouts." Jade told him, seeing his mouth fall slightly open.

"But…Chaser!" he sputtered.

At the exact same time, Ginny walked into the common room and Jade nodded to her. "You've got Ginny, she makes two of me." Jade said seeing him shake his head.

"But I want _you_ too!" he said.

Jade's face burned, wishing that he'd want her about something else but she felt good about this for now. "Snape's going to get me off of the Quidditch team anyway. You think Malfoy would stand to see his last year getting his arse kicked again? Not like he'll win against you, but he'd do anything in his power to keep his obnoxious self into his own advantages." Jade said seeing Harry ran a hand through his messy black hair.

"I think there's a way to keep you on the team. If I can only-"

"Don't bother yourself about me. I'm sure there are other people in Gryffindor that are just as good as I am, if not better. Don't stress yourself out, you have an amazing team and it can definitely breathe without me." Jade said taking her bag.

"What's going on?"Ginny asked looking at Jade and Harry who turned around to see her. Harry mumbled something to her and left the common room.

"I'm going to kill Malfoy when I see him I swear." Harry said clearly, before leaving through the portrait hole completely.

"What's gotten into him?" Ginny asked.

Jade walked on, placing a hand on Ginny's shoulder. "I'll explain everything when I get back later. But for now, I just want you to keep Harry calm and tell him to be open minded. I'm not going to try out for Quidditch this year and I'd like you to assist him in picking out the best damn Chaser there ever was in Gryffindor." Jade told her.

Ginny's eyes widened and she also like Harry went to ask why in the world Jade wasn't going to try out but Jade shook her head.

"I have detention and I can't be late. Goodbye and good luck!" Jade said running off towards the dungeons.


	3. Chapter 3

Detention wasn't as bad as Jade had imagined it, it was worse. She scrubbed the pantries clean without using her wand and fought back the violent urge of taking the gunk and mildew and shoving it down Snape's mouth.

"Sir?" Jade asked pausing from the cleaning.

"What is it?" Snape asked from the desk.

"Something's there…and its breathing." Jade said seeing him get up and look at her questioningly.

"Step down, let me have a look at it." Snape said as Jade stepped down. Snape took a step on the stool and peered into the pantries, looking at the breathing and living thing that had been living in his pantry. He drew his wand out and went to point at the pantry but Jade started to speak.

"Be careful." Jade said seeing him pause.

"Malfoy likes to bite." She said as seriously as she could.

Snape gave her a stiff look and went back to attending the creature. "Step as far away as you can Harper." Snape warned.

Jade obeyed and stepped as far away as she could from the pantry.

"Actually, you're free to go. But make sure you seek out Filch and tell him that there's an unspecified creature hiding in my pantry." Snape said seeing Jade nod and take the gloves off of her. She left the dungeons, sought out Filch and went back to the Gryffindor common room to call for some good unadulterated sleep.

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The next day, Jade had been told that Dean Thomas had been placed in as their teams Chaser much to Ginny's discomfort.

"How was detention the yesterday?" Hermione asked as they all walked down the hallway.

"Snape made me scrub the pantries and I found something that was living in there." Jade said seeing them laugh.

"No, I'm actually serious. It was there…sleeping. I told Snape and he told me to find Filch…oh no." Jade said seeing Malfoy pestering Colin Creevey.

"That's it; this is the last time Malfoy's ever going to mess with someone again." Ron said going forward to attack Malfoy but Ginny and Hermione pulled him back.

"Let me handle this Ron." Hermione said. She walked up further to and asked Malfoy what was going on.

"Oh…everyone look its Granger. By Gods Mudblood, your hair must provide another shelter for the Weasley's doesn't it?" Malfoy said with a low chuckle.

"Sod off ferret." Ron said through his teeth, seeing Malfoy put his hands up in mock surrender.

"I'm just trying to save you some reliable way to hide your face. Besides, Granger would allow you to live in there for free wont she? Since you're fu-"

"_Enough_ of your fat mouth! Scum." Jade said feeling herself start to tense up. If there was any way at all that she could have just lash out on Malfoy without being punished or concerned, she'd do it. She'd give up anything just to knock the living soul out of him.

"He's only got a big mouth. Nothing special really. All he does is know how to run his mouth and be the annoying little ferret he's always been known for. Right Malfoy? Otherwise you wouldn't have had to face to go running to Snape to punish Jade for beating you to a pulp." Harry said lazily, seeing Malfoy flare with anger.

"She didn't beat me up." Malfoy said as Ron spoke up.

"A shame really…Malfoy getting beat up by a girl. Wait, haven't you been flogged by Hermione third year? I don't know how you're going to gather up the balls to talk like that when these two are standing right here." Ron said seeing them cross their arms and smirk.

Malfoy looked at all of them, suddenly feeling cornered. He frantically looked at all of them and saw Jade approach him.

"Oh you should have seen the way I straightened him. Malfoy can't fight back for the life of him…did you know that?" Jade asked everyone who gasped and placed a hand to their mouths, looking shocked. Jade turned back around and saw Malfoy staring menacingly at her.

"For your bloody information Harper, you did _not_ beat me up! You're making it all up! I beat _myself_ up and tore my shirts so I could place the blame on _you_." he said seeing Jade frown.

"Stop lying Malfoy, I whipped you." Jade said seeing him look furious.

"_YOU DID NOT DO ANYTHING TO ME YESTERDAY! I STAGED EVERYTHING TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE YOU'VE DONE IT TO GET YOU IN TROUBLE!" _he roared in her face.

Jade smiled and stepped back looking incredibly triumphant. He looked at Granger's face, Ron Weasley's face, Ginny Weasley's face and Harry Potter's face who looked incredibly delighted.

"Please…by all means…turn around." Jade said waving a hand. Malfoy whipped around and felt fear fill his chest. Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape and the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore stood there and from the looks on their faces, Draco's Head Boy title was going to be taken away in a few moments' time.

"Perhaps we shall discuss about your transference of responsibilities as Head Boy in my office and give Miss Harper your sincerest apologies right this very minute?" Dumbledore suggested softly.

Jade folded her hands behind her back and looked pleasantly at Draco Malfoy who couldn't stand to see her right now.

"Apologize to Miss Harper for the outrageous accusation you've made on her for your selfish reasons Mr. Malfoy." McGonagall pressed.

Draco looked at Jade, his eyes malevolent. "I'm sincerely apologize for the trouble I've caused you." Draco said almost that if he'd chip his teeth from the way he was gritting them. He saw that her eyes were smiling, laughing at him but she had kept her face straight. There was a hint of smile on her lips as she relished every moment of this. Boy was she going to pay dearly for this humiliating moment. Tomorrow he was going to be in her place and she would be apologizing to _him_.

"Well there's nothing more I can do but to accept your apology. Though I'm sure you won't do it again, but if you choose to hurt any of my friends or me, I'll go straight to Dumbledore to let him see the matter at hand…but I do accept your apology Malfoy and I hope to see that you'll be a little more mature next time." Jade said. She gave him a grin and stepped back as Snape, McGonagall and Dumbledore escorted him out. Jade turned to her friends and clapped their hands for this victory.

"Let's celebrate in the Kitchens!" Ron declared.

"Did you see the look on Malfoy's face when he was told to apologize?" Hermione asked. They chatted away, walking down the halls and were completely oblivious to what kind of ominous plans that Malfoy was planning in Dumbledore's office.


	4. Chapter 4

**This is the last chapter for today, more coming later!! Enjoy and please review!**

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Malfoy sat in Dumbledore's office and sat through a humiliating confrontation. He was furious beyond belief when Dumbledore renounced his Head Boy status, giving it all to Ernie Macmillan.

"You may go now Mr. Malfoy and I do expect that you will not do something that will possibly force me to take desperate measures on your behavior. You're an excellent student and very intelligent; we cannot afford to lose a mind as valuable as yours….especially when on your graduating year." Dumbledore said to Malfoy who nodded.

"I'm sure Draco's ready to apologize and move on without causing any more trouble throughout this year." Snape said nudging for Draco to apologize.

"Yes…I promise this won't ever happen again. I'm sorry for everything's that happened. You won't see it from me again." Draco said seeing Dumbledore give him an affirming nod.

"Yes, I expect so. You may go now Draco." Dumbledore said dismissing Draco who got up and went to leave but the door opened to reveal Rubeus Hagrid who walked in with an object in his hands that was wrapped up in a black silk shawl.

"Professor Dumbledore, I got yer Portkey!" Hagrid said seeing Dumbledore ask him to set it on the table.

"We need to ship this Portkey out to the Ministry by midnight tomorrow for demolition. Hagrid will you kindly take the Portkey down to the dungeons? This must be out of the students reach otherwise…well I'd not like to get into details about it." Dumbledore said seeing Hagrid nod.

"Yessir! I'll keep a good hidin' place fer this Portkey!" Hagrid said bustling out.

"Let's go Draco, it's getting past curfew." Snape said as Draco wordlessly left Dumbledore's office.

An idea was brewing in his mind but he had enough sense not to think about it with Snape nearby. "Where does the Portkey lead to?" Draco asked innocently.

They walked down to the dungeons and Snape answered his question. "Somewhere incredibly dangerous. Once someone goes in, it takes a great deal of courage to come back out. The Portkey itself vanishes into the world it transports the poor soul who's touched it." Snape said smirking nastily.

Draco's eyes glittered with greed at the Portkey that held his vengeance. "How exactly does someone get out of it?" Draco asked seeing Snape also transfixed on the same Portkey. If he had his way, he'd probably ship Harry Potter away with the Portkey.

"No one knows exactly. The only two people that have ever gotten out of it alive was Albus Dumbledore and the late Grindelwald. Why exactly are you so curious about it?" Snape asked looking at Draco who shrugged as if he had nothing better to do but to ask questions.

"Just curious that's all. Destroying a Portkey is always controversial in the Wizarding World." Draco said seeing Snape agree with him.

"Especially if something that dangerous is lying around for someone to lose their life over." Snape said stopping in front of his office. He turned around to Draco. "You have class early tomorrow in the morning. You're incredibly lucky for the Headmaster not to have contacted your parents…although I'm not too sure how you'll explain how your Head Boy title had been removed from you." Snape said looking over the boy who was surely going to get his revenge.

"I'm sure Father will understand if I blame it on Harper again." Draco said seeing Hagrid hiding the Portkey on the top shelf of the cupboard. Hagrid locked it up entirely and patted his hands.

"You need to start managing your responsibilities and get serious on your studying rather than tailing behind those Gryffindors." Snape said stepping to the side when Hagrid stepped out of the room and closed the doors behind him.

"No one's gonna come through these doors and find that." Hagrid said patting his large hands. "I don't think anyone would be the least bit interested to enter this room…not if it's me or Albus Dumbledore." Snape said placing a simple lock on the door.

"Good night Professor, I'll see you tomorrow for Potions." Draco said as Snape and Hagrid headed out of the dungeons.

"Good night Draco." Snape said leaving.

Draco went to his Head Boy quarters where he'd have to empty first thing in the morning. Draco looked around his private quarters and seethed in anger. He couldn't feel any angrier and felt like bursting into the Gryffindor common room and killing Harper alive. He tapped his foot and started to strategize calmly. He knew what he wanted to do with Harper but how could he ever catch her alone tomorrow before midnight? Before Snape and Dumbledore was going to take the Portkey?

Slowly, he thought of a plan and knew that he couldn't do this alone. He needed a few others to help him to trap her and immediately found them. Draco quickly got up and exited his Head Boy quarters to the Slytherin dormitory.


	5. Vanish

**I'm still not finished with this story, but I thought it would be nice to leave a little chapter where the action starts!**

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Jade almost fell asleep from Professor Binns horribly boring Goblin rebellions. Jade swore that they had been listening about the Goblin rebellion for all seven years of their lives! Were they ever going to stop?

Jade moved her eyes away to the windows where she saw a couple sitting on the ledge, shyly talking to each other. She frowned seeing the boy point something to her face and nervously brush it away. They leaned closer and the two pressed a kiss on each other's lips giving Jade the time to look away and mind her own business. Her eyes flickered down to Malfoy who sat right next to the window, staring at her with a sinister expression on his face. Jade shivered by this threatening look and immediately looked away knowing that he wasn't going to let her go so easily. _'_

_Let him.'_ Jade thought. '_The worst he could do to me is throw a few hexes…and if I complain to Dumbledore, he'd just get expelled._' Jade smiled at the thought of it and turned back to Malfoy to meet his eyes. She smiled, infuriating him even further.

'_I'll wipe that smirk on your face right after this class, you watch Harper. This is the last time I'll see you try to laugh at me.' _Draco thought viciously.

"Class is dismissed." Professor Binns announced when the bell was heard tolling. Everyone started to pack their bags and started to leave.

Draco's heart started to pound and suddenly felt an incredible rush of adrenaline pumping through him making him feel that he was ready for it. He was actually going to ruin a girl's life forever. He walked out behind her and saw a little first year come up to her.

"Jade Harper?" the little boy asked seeing Jade nod.

"Yes?" Jade asked.

"Professor Snape is looking for you, he says that you've left your Potions book in his classroom." The boy lied smoothly.

Jade furrowed her eyebrows at him and looked at Hermione who gestured to her book bag. Jade opened it and looked around to see that it was indeed missing.

"Well why couldn't he give it to you to give to me?" Jade asked the boy who shrugged.

"He's only asked me to give you the message. That's all." The boy said. With that, he turned around and left as Jade turned to Hermione.

Draco was immensely surprised at the little boy's ability to lie straight through his teeth. He even started to believe the boy himself. He had thought that the boy wouldn't be as sharp enough to play along with Jade's questions but he had to hand it to him, that boy was one hell of an actor. He was thankful that things were going well so far. He was unsure of how to get Crabbe to steal Harper's Potions book but he managed to do the job. He felt that this was his lucky day, things were definitely looking up.

"Hey, we don't have the time to be standing around. We have to meet Professor McGonagall for advisement." Harry said to Jade and Hermione who nodded.

"Save me a spot, I won't be long. Just a quick run to the dungeons." Jade said going to leave but Hermione held her back.

"Go later." Hermione persuaded.

Draco's insides jumped. He wanted Granger to shut up, but if she offered to go along with her, he wouldn't have a problem to send her off with Harper. Two less filthy mudbloods to walk around this earth.

"I have _a lot_ to study for and I won't have time to stop by the dungeons until tomorrow morning which our homework is due. So while you all are getting your advisements, I'll just get my book during the wait and come back just in time for my advisement. You can't have things hanging around in life; you always have to finish as much work as you can to make your life easier. I'll be back." Jade said leaving.

"Well done Jade! You get your Potions book!" Hermione said hearing Harry and Ron snort behind her. She turned around and poked their chests.

"You've got to learn a thing or two about getting a job done on time…you both are the biggest procrastinators I've ever seen." She said heading out of the classroom.

Jade walked down the hallways, seeing less and less people as they headed into their classes. As she had walked, she turned around thinking that there was someone behind her but she saw no one. She kept walking and turned back to her direction. For the strangest reason, the feeling of someone watching her and right behind her started to creep into Jade's head. She turned around to see nothing at all and wondered to herself if she was going absolutely mad.

She finally made her way to the dungeons and arriving there did not help one bit. It was darker and much more threatening than the other floors. What was more depressing was that the Slytherin common room was directed here. Jade went to go ahead to get her book and make a run for it but heard someone from behind her. She quickly turned around to see Goyle standing there, smirking at her as if he was definitely planning something dangerous for her.

"Ello." He said in a deep voice. Jade immediately turned back around and saw the nearest hallway that was going to lead her out of the dungeons and away from him but she stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Crabbe standing there, blocking the hallway. She felt threatened, cornered and most definitely scared. She was never quite good at Defense Against Dark Arts, Harry was good at that. She could only do physical harm but what harm was she actually going to do to Crabbe and Goyle who were probably made out of jello. Jade turned away from them, breathing heavily and saw that Blaise and Pansy were also blocking her pathways.

She was absolutely trapped and realized that the missing Potions book was all a ruse. She was led straight here in their mercy and Jade knew for a fact that Draco Malfoy was around and was going to make his big finale after everyone else made theirs.

Jade spotted a room, the only room that she could be in without having them there. She could lock it for the time being and protect herself until they were gone. Jade made a dash for the room and quickly closed the doors and locked them. She felt herself start to shake slightly as she heard their footsteps stop right in front of the door. None of them bothered to open it or try to bang against the doors, they were silent and it scared Jade even further.

"What do you want?!" Jade screamed. None answered. She couldn't hear anything.

"They already got what they want." A voice said behind Jade who screamed in terror and turned to see Malfoy leaning against a table with what looked like an oddly shaped object in the center of the table. Jade stepped back seeing Malfoy stand up straight and start to slowly walk towards her.

"Because _I've _got what I want…almost actually." Malfoy said seeing Jade go into her robes for her wand but he jerked forward and grabbed her arms.

"You're going to pay for what you've done to me…and you're going to pay for the rest of your life and remember me for it." He hissed. He yanked her to him and dragged her towards the table as she screamed, kicked and cried.

"Please don't rape me! I-" she stopped seeing him laugh loudly and stare at her fiercely.

"Rape you?" he asked furiously. "Nothing in this universe would get me to even _touch _you, you filthy little Mudblood. I'm going to send you away, a place where you will _never_ make it back. You'll disappear and be considered dead. That's right…dead." Malfoy said holding on to her tighter. He looked at the oddly shaped object and started to count to three. It glowed and Jade's eyes went wide. It was a Portkey to somewhere, where she'd never find her way back.

"_NO!" _Jade screamed.

Malfoy let her go and drew his hands up to push her. He lunged forward to push her but Jade moved away quickly to see him make contact with the Portkey.

As soon as he touched the Portkey, he knew that his plan went horribly wrong...but it couldn't end horribly wrong and he shouldn't be the one there, it was supposed to be Harper. He saw Jade's arm about a reach away and grabbed it as quickly as he could, vanishing from the room.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone! So sorry to keep you all waiting for this story. I've got a lot of this story and didn't expect it to go the way it went but it's going great! I still haven't finished it because I had to put my writing on hold to dedicate my time to school but I'm back and writing the ending to THIS story and writing the beginning of another story, which is going to be hilarious, mark my words! All right so here you are with these updates, enjoy and sorry again to keep everyone waiting!!!!**

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The last thing Jade saw was Malfoy hitting himself against the Portkey and taking her with him. She was sucked right into the portal and she screamed as hard as she could as she fell, feeling as if she were skydiving. She still felt Malfoy's hand on her arm, gripping her tightly but all Jade could think about was the shock of going through the Portkey. Jade suddenly saw the ground coming at her in a split second and saw Malfoy fall first with her coming straight at him not a second later.

As they both hit the ground together, they felt the wind knocked out of each other. Jade groaned feeling her chest heavy and sore from the impact. She rolled off of Malfoy and breathed in deeply, hearing Malfoy moan in terror.

Jade heard a constant chirping noise of birds and the croaking of frogs. She heard a small rustle next to her ear and she turned to see a giant beetle crawling towards her. Jade let out an earsplitting scream and flew up slapping her arms, legs and face from any of the bugs that were near her. Her body quivered from seeing the beetle and from the thought of anything trying to crawl its way through her clothes and on her skin. She looked at Malfoy, seeing him bring himself to a sitting position.

"Just what in _fuck's _name were you _thinking_?!" Jade screamed at him. Malfoy looked equally furious and scrambled up to his feet, advancing towards her.

"_YOU_ were supposed to be here whore! _YOU_ were the one that should have been here, NOT ME!" he yelled. Jade drew her hands up and shoved him as hard as she could, seeing him stumble back.

"Take me back! Take me the fuck back home! I don't want to be here!" Jade screamed. She couldn't at all find herself to calm down. The more she was going to stay here and think of bugs and critters and possibly venomous ones, the more she would panic. She wanted to be back in Hogwarts. She wanted to endure Parkinson, Zabini, Crabbe and Goyle. Anything was better than the jungle! She saw Malfoy go pale and look around, not being able to answer her question.

"Malfoy! Did you hear anything that's coming out of my fucking mouth?! Take me the _fuck_ home!" Jade said stomping towards him but he turned around and pointed a finger at her.

"You…this was all your fault. You stupid little bitch!" he said grabbing her collar and dragging her towards him. Jade fought and twisted, trying to free himself but he had a firm grip on her shirt, shaking her. "You dragged me here with you! Now we're stuck! How the fuck are we going to get out of here alive?! How are we going to find the fucking Portkey?" Malfoy hissed. Jade's eyes widened and she gaped at him.

"You wanted to transport me in a place where you couldn't find the Portkey? You wanted me _dead_?!" Jade asked incredulously, feeling her voice rise in a panic. She felt an incredible surge of rage where she could definitely take his face and bash it against the nearest tree.

"Yes of _course_ I wanted you dead. Look at what you did to me!" He shouted, seeing her bewildered eyes. Her eyebrows rose indignantly and her mouth fell open in repulse.

"You horrible little ingrate! You tried to do me wrong and get what you deserved and just because of that, you planned _this_ for my death?" Jade asked shoving his hand off of her and stepping away from him, feeling the tears in her eyes start to rise. "I thought you were horrible…but I never thought you were inhumane." Jade said seeing him replace his murderous expression falter. Jade placed a hand over her mouth and choked back a sob, looking around the jungle, not knowing exactly where the hell they were. She looked back at Malfoy and shook her head.

"But how could I have forgotten? Son of a Death Eater…son of the man who kisses the very path that the Dark Lord walks on…I expect no less." Jade said vehemently, seeing Malfoy start to flare up angrily. She saw him tighten his fists, his muscles flexing in his arms and the veins in them bulging. He could easily put her to death with one swing, but he was too much of a coward to do that to her. He wanted to be responsible for her death, to claim that he did but wanted something else to do the dirty work for him.

"You don't know me or my father or the Dark Lord for that matter. Don't you _dare_ insult them in my presence." He said in a low and dangerous voice. Jade saw the blood start to rise from his neck and she knew he was terribly angry but at this moment she didn't care. If she was going to die, she'd die but with the satisfaction of knowing that he was going to die very slowly and steadily. Some wonderful venomous creature would bite him viciously and give him a slow and painful death, or a large carnivorous animal would find him and happily rip him up and have him for a bloody dinner. Or he was going to starve to death, dehydrate, drown, fall whatever it took, she'd be happy.

"Hmm…I think I know a few things about them to pass judgments. You all are murderers. You all are _evil_ because you hate everyone else who aren't your kind. You fucking kill innocent people for your benefit who don't deserve it. I'm actually glad that I'm not alone to die here. I'm glad that you're also here to die with me. Between the both of us, it's truly _you_ who deserves this better than I do because Karma's hanging out of your arse, not mine." Jade said seeing him swiftly walk up to her and grab her throat. He took a firm hold of her neck, feeling her hands fly to his wrists, holding it tightly. He didn't choke her; he only tried to intimidate her. He wasn't going kill her…he couldn't do it. He stared at her, seeing her stare back at him, her eyes running with tears and her face blotchy red and wet.

"Kill me…murderer." Jade said testily.

Malfoy had to give it to her, she was extremely persistent, annoying and immensely brave.

"I'm not-" he stopped furrowing his eyebrows. What was he going to tell her? He wasn't a murderer? He tried to get her to die from sending her away with a Portkey, but that wasn't murder…not on his hands anyway. He saw her mouth form into a smirk and she ripped his hands off her neck.

"You Draco Malfoy will die with me. You'll kill me now sure…but you're going to die sooner or later. We're both going to die…thanks to you." she hissed. She turned away from him and started walking away from him, leaving him by himself.


	7. Chapter 7

Pansy, Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle waited outside the door, wondering what was taking so long for Draco to come out.

"You know…" Pansy started.

"What?" Blaise asked looking at Pansy who turned around and faced the closed door.

"I can't hear her screaming anymore." She said looking strangely at the door. The boys snorted in laughter.

"And Draco told _me_ I was slow. She's finally got transported with that Portkey Pansy. That's why she's not screaming anymore." Goyle explained seeing Pansy look at him irritably.

"I _know_ that but wouldn't Draco have come out after she'd been transported? It's been ten minutes." She said checking her watch. Blaise pulled himself from the door and looked at Pansy curiously.

"You know, you're right. What's taking Draco so long?" Blaise asked.

Pansy and him exchanged a long stare and started to wonder. Something was definitely wrong. They instantly turned towards the doors and opened it to see no one in the room, except for the long silk black shawl lying innocently on the table.

"Oh no…" Blaise said his eyes wide and fearful. He looked around the room that had absolutely no windows but concrete stone walls and pantries. Pansy let out a bloodcurdling scream and turned around and ran off towards Snape's office.

"Holy Hippogriffs! He's gone _too_?" How'd that happen?" Crabbe asked feeling utterly confused. Goyle scratched his head and started to think really hard. Blaise knew they were going to take some time so he ran after Pansy to Snape's office.

"Professor! Professor! He's gone!" Pansy shrieked. Snape who was teaching a Potions classroom of second years looked up to see Pansy and Blaise run in, looking pale and absolutely horrified.

"Who's gone?" Snape asked setting his jar of eyes of newts down.

"Professor, Draco's gone with Harper…in some Portkey that he mentioned." Blaise explained.

Snape felt his insides sink. Two students gone with the Portkey of Castile and they were sure to be dead. Snape ripped out of the room and snapped towards the two old Slytherins to follow him. Snape ran down the hallway and quickly approached the room where he had originally kept the Portkey. He walked into the open room and saw Crabbe and Goyle standing there, transfixed at the spot where the Portkey had been after it was taken from the cupboard that was placed high above so no one would have access to it by accident. Snape had realized that Draco had plans for this Portkey.

"It was all his idea. He said that he was going to-"

"We must go meet the Headmaster _now_." Snape said leaving the office. He ordered all four of them to follow him to explain everything to Dumbledore. Snape hoped that Dumbledore would have a way to bring them back, otherwise they were doomed.

Jade walked away from Malfoy, leaving him by himself.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Malfoy asked seeing her turn around.

"I'm going to find a way out of here. I'm not going to stand around and let Death and _you _get the best of me. I'm going to put up a fight for my life and find where the Portkey is." Jade said. She walked off, careful not to step on a snake or whatever might be lying around to pounce on her.

"We're screwed Harper. Snape told me that the Portkey was impossible to find. The only people that have ever been known to escape was Dumbledore and Grindelwald." Draco yelled seeing her stop walking. She turned around and listened to him intently.

"How do we get the Portkey?" Jade asked him.

"No one knows except for Dumbledore." Malfoy told her, seeing her start walking back to him.

"What else did Snape tell you?" Jade asked impatiently. She was already angry enough at him for putting them in a dangerous situation, she needed all the information she could get to help herself out of this mess. Malfoy narrowed his eyes at her, feeling the heat get to him. He felt a disgusting trickle of sweat from the back of his neck and swiped it, wringing his hands.

"He didn't tell me anything else. He only said it was incredibly dangerous and that it takes a great deal of courage to come back out. That's all he's told me." Malfoy said seeing Jade turn around and leave.

"You don't know where you're going!" he called after her, seeing her make a rude hand gesture to him.

"I'm not going to stand idle like you. I trust myself to get out. If Dumbledore and Grindelwald can do it, I also hold the same capabilities. If you want to stand around, please do so. If you think your life is worth it, you'd take a chance and find a way out. We're going to die anyway, at least try to die with some dignity." Jade said disappearing into the jungle.

Draco stood there seeing her walk off. He felt a soaring tide of panic sweeping through him as he thought of dying in this jungle. He wasn't prepared at all to be here and wanted to sit around here forever until someone came by and rescued him but he knew that it wasn't going to happen. He thought about Harper's words to him

'_If you think your life is worth it, you'd take a chance and find a way out. We're going to die anyway, at least try to die with some dignity_.'

She was far more gutsier than he'd ever be. She actually took a chance while he preferred to stay behind. Draco heard a small howl near them and he quickly bolted after Harper.


	8. Chapter 8

Dumbledore sat still, his face grave from what he had heard from the four young Slytherins. Snape watched Dumbledore sit silently and his forehead stressed into a few lines as he tried to think of a way to find a way to bring them back. Dumbledore gave a small nod to them and spoke.

"You all are free to leave. I have to speak to Professor Snape to arrange Mr. Malfoy and Miss Harper's return." Dumbledore said seeing Pansy and Blaise start to calm.

"So they're not in danger right? Draco told us that it was impossible to come back and whoever would go in there would lead to death!" Blaise said seeing Dumbledore lean back and glance at Snape who looked highly uncomfortable and remorseful for telling Draco any of the capabilities of the Portkey.

"I'm sure it was just an exaggeration Mr. Zabini. I shall have to ask you to leave because as soon as Professor Snape and I get to work, the sooner we can have Mr. Malfoy and Miss Harper back." Dumbledore told them. They all stood up and started to leave as McGonagall appeared in the office.

"Albus, you've sent-"

"Have a seat Minerva. There has been a terrible accident." Dumbledore explained. McGonagall frowned and looked at Severus Snape who took a seat next to her, his hands folded on his lap but his face looking as troubled as Dumbledore's.

"What's happened Albus?" McGonagall asked starting to get incredibly worried. Dumbledore looked up from his spectacles and took a deep breath.

"The Portkey of Castile has vanished." Dumbledore said seeing McGonagall open her mouth in horror. She looked at Snape who couldn't even look at her.

"Oh my goodness…how did this happen? W-who was taken to Castile?" McGonagall asked. Dumbledore went to answer her question but she shook her head, placing both hands on her mouth.

"No Albus. Please tell me they weren't students." McGonagall said almost looking faint.

"I'm afraid to tell you that they were. One from Severus's House and one from yours." Dumbledore informed.

"Their names?" McGonagall asked, bracing herself for a shock.

"Mr. Draco Malfoy from Slytherin and-"

"Jade Harper…I knew it. I just knew it." McGonagall said shooting Snape a dirty look. "You must be ecstatic to have let this happen but that idiot child instead got himself tangled up in this mess along with that poor girl. He's been after her like a cat after a mouse and you covered up his mistakes from the first day he's ever stepped foot into this castle and encouraged him to go on and terrorize anyone he wanted whenever he wanted." McGonagall said furiously seeing Snape snap towards her.

"I did not _encourage_ that little nitwit at all. If I had known that he was up to something like this, I would have sent him to Castile myself." Snape said bitterly.

"Your attention should be on the two children that are in peril danger. We don't have the time to point and blame, we've exceeded that level already." Dumbledore told them seeing them get back to focus.

"Then what are we to do Albus? How are we going to save them without the Portkey?" McGonagall asked. Dumbledore was thrown into a deep deliberation with himself.

"There's nothing we can do without the Portkey. The Portkey now belongs to Castile…the Queen of Castile. She has been waiting 99 years for the Portkey to come back and now it has. I was foolish to have it brought into the castle, I shouldn't have but it's too late to regret anything now. The Queen should be informed by now that the Portkey is back in her castle and with that, she will also know that she will be expecting the two individuals that have brought this Portkey to her. Mr. Malfoy and Miss Harper need to know so many things to avoid the danger that will be coming to them." Dumbledore said trailing back into deliberation again.

"I doubt that thickheaded boy will put in much help for either of them, though I do have my faith in Miss Harper. That girl is intelligent enough for the both of them." McGonagall said to Snape who resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"She has a terrible flaw that will lead the both to the Queen. She puts her trust into everyone she meets. However Mr. Malfoy's distrust and suspicion for everything and everyone will hopefully counteract with her flaw. No one is to be trusted in Castile, not even the trees…except for one's self and the person that comes with you. I am powerless to help them in any way I can. The only thing I can do is hope that they'll be able to reach the Portkey and come safely back to Hogwarts." Dumbledore said seeing the crestfallen Minerva McGonagall and Snape who had already declared their deaths in his head.

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A woman was finished washing the marble floors of the Castile castle. She set her rag down and let out an exhausted sigh, looking around the spotless Oratory. She was going to have to come back tomorrow and wash it clean again, just like the other rooms she had been cleaning for the past 16 years of her life.

"Annabelle!" her mother called in the hallway.

Annabelle looked around for her musical triangle instrument and rang it gently for her mother to hear where she was. She picked up her wooden bucket and rag and turned to meet her mother outside of the oratory. Her mother, a short and wide woman appeared at the doorway of the oratory and inspected the room.

"Very good Annabelle. Much better than Jody's work." She bubbled.

Annabelle looked away from her mother feeling a sting of irritation from being compared to Jody, one of the cruelest girls Annabelle had ever met. Annabelle was a mute girl from birth and was often ridiculed for it. Jody had relentlessly chased her down and laughed at her with her friends, throwing things at her just because Annabelle had nothing to say. They'd often go around and pull her hair and hurt her because she couldn't cry out to pain and she wouldn't tell her parents. Annabelle felt her mother place a hand on her shoulder to lead her out but a bright flash of light made them turn around and see something materializing on the center of the small table.

"Oh heavens." Annabelle's mother said placing a hand on her chest. Annabelle looked at her mother and looked back at the odd looking object that was almost shaped like a dome castle.

"It's back…it's what my grandmother told me about. The Portkey of Castile is back! Silvia! Edna! Oscar! The Portkey of Castile is back!" Annabelle's mother screamed.

Annabelle's mother grabbed Annabelle's hand and ran off to inform the Queen. Annabelle's mother let Annabelle go and she followed her mother to the royal throne room to inform the Queen.

"What's going on with that fat mother of yours? Has she seen a mouse again?" Jody asked appearing in front of Annabelle when he mother hurriedly told one of the royal guards about what had come about. Annabelle stepped away from Jody, not wanting to inhabit the same breathing space with her. If there was one thing that Annabelle couldn't endure, it was the jabs made on her family.

"Like a bloody elephant that woman. Sees a mouse and she starts jumping." Jody said maliciously as her smaller sisters cackled, their faces dirty from the soot of the fireplaces. Annabelle walked away and followed her mother and the royal guards to the throne room where the Queen sat. Annabelle looked down to the ground, not daring to look up to the Queen. She had seen one of the servant girls, a year younger than her peek up and her hand was chopped off just a few years ago. Ever since after that, Annabelle never looked at the Queen and avoided any encounter with the Queen at all possible times. Annabelle's mother too cast her eyes down as the Queen's guards approached the Queen to inform her of what had happened.

"Speak." The Queen said in a raspy and sharp voice.

"Your greatness." Annabelle's mother bowed deeply before the Queen, not looking up.

"The Portkey of Castile has come back." She said, sending a wave full of shock and gasps around the entire hall. Annabelle couldn't see anything but she heard a murmur coming from the guests of the Queen and the other servants behind her gasping. Jody's mother was in complete shock and murmured

"This isn't possible...again?"

"_Silence!_" The Queen commanded.

Everyone immediately fell into silence and they all heard a scraping noise.

"Move away, the Queen's getting up. Everyone moved and heard the Queen walking swiftly out of the throne room.

"Where is the Queen going?" Jody asked her mother Silvia who motioned her to keep quiet. Annabelle wanted to ask the same question. What on earth was going on? What was a 'Portkey' and what did it have to anything with the land of Castile? Annabelle looked around and slipped out of the crowd, following the Queen and her men back to the oratory. Annabelle only saw the white short hair on the Queen's head but never her face. She watched with large eyes, seeing the Queen freeze and stare at the Portkey.

"I want them to be caught and alive when you bring them here. Alert the forests and jungles of Castile to track them. Send Nicolas for them. They shouldn't know what they're about to face."


	9. The River

Jade took her robe off, feeling incredibly hot from the climate. She swung her heavy robe over her shoulder and knew quickly that it wasn't going to work. She created a sling from the robe and felt her entire body sweat, leaving her clothes matted to her skin. It was as if she had just jumped into a river and walked back out. There wasn't any water nearby and she had been walking with Malfoy for nearly an hour.

"Did you hear that?!" Malfoy asked in an unusually high pitched voice.

Jade couldn't help but smirk at his fear, she hadn't heard anything at all that sounded threatening.

"Don't worry, these animals devour on attractive individuals…you should be safe." She said. Malfoy gave her a dirty look and distanced himself away, swatting his face and body from the mosquitoes and flies that buzzed around him.

"This is a nightmare." He said, snarling at the flies. Jade wasn't as bothered from the mosquitoes or flies like Malfoy was. There were bigger problems in her mind and the only one that Jade worried about was how she was going to find the Portkey and go back to Hogwarts.

"They like you Malfoy; after all you're one of them. Annoying and small." Jade said seeing him snap towards her.

"Small? Anything smaller than me would be your Potter…oh wait he's not yours anymore is he? He's with that Weasel of his. However do you manage to be with him, knowing that he's having her every night-"

"Shut your fat mouth Malfoy!" Jade snapped. She could see that he was making her life very difficult. He had some nerve to taunt her, right after he confessed that he sent her here to kill her.

"Touchy?" he asked, slapping his arm. He turned to look at her but received a hard slap to his face. He flew his hand to his cheek and stared incredulously at Harper who gasped.

"Oh there was this big fat mosquito on your face and I just _had_ to stop it from ruining your face!" Jade said innocently. Malfoy only blinked at her and Jade gave a short smiled and walked away as if her day had gotten better. She stopped to hear a running stream. She felt Malfoy knock into her and she turned around glaring at him.

"Jeez I stumbled, don't look at me like that." He said irritably.

"Shut up for a few seconds if you can. I'm trying to locate the stream." Jade told him. They paused, listening to the rush of water nearby.

"Big deal, I thought we were supposed to find the Portkey not stand around and listen to water." He said seeing her roll her eyes.

"You moron, do you actually think we'll make it to the Portkey if we're almost dead from dehydration? Do you think we'll ever make it to the Portkey in this heat?" Jade asked, seeing him dump his robes on the floor.

"How can you be so sure to find the Portkey? It could be lying around anywhere for all we know, maybe in that stupid bush or under that rock, we don't know exactly _where_ the Portkey will be." He said seeing her walk away from him to the direction of the stream.

"You're useless to be around, I hope you know that. I wish you were back at Hogwarts because I could do so much better and think more optimistically by myself than with you, you're just a depressing little ferret aren't you?" Jade asked.

"If it weren't for me, you'd die without my company. You by yourself is enough for anyone, I'm surprised that you've made it 17 years without killing yourself." He chided. Jade ignored him and found the little stream that she had been hearing. It was a large and broad stream with clear running water flowing beautifully in the open sky where there were no trees.

"Lucky me." Jade said taking off her robe that was slung around her. She bent down and scooped up some water and splashed it on her face, feeling the relief of the cool water on her skin. She saw Malfoy bend down as well and relieve himself from by washing his face. Jade scooped up the water again and drank greedily, loving the cool water quench her dry throat. She didn't realize she was this thirsty until she began to drank. She drank and drank until her stomach swelled and she didn't feel thirsty anymore.

Draco rolled up his sleeves and washed his arms. He threw some water on his hair and ran his hands through it, feeling incredibly relieved and much more comfortable. He looked over to see Harper bathe her bare legs with the water to cool herself down. She then stopped and squinted at the water, looking carefully at something. Her eyes suddenly widened and she let out a scream. Draco turned his head to the water to see what she was screaming at. He stood up and saw that the stream had formed into a face.

A very familiar face.


	10. The Black Panther

"Dumbledore! Dumbledore by Gods I am so happy to see you!" Jade said completely overjoyed to see him. Draco felt relief, more relief than he had ever felt to see the old man. He didn't think he'd want to see anyone else except for Dumbledore's face, more than anyone else in the world.

"And I am happy to see you as well children." The Dumbledore stream said.

Draco felt a bit off by Dumbledore calling them children. Since when had Dumbledore ever called _anyone_ in Hogwarts children? He treated everyone with respect and addressed to them formally so they could feel that they were _adults_.

"Dumbledore it was all Malfoy's fault, it's a long story but we want to come back but we can't find the Portkey! Malfoy said you went through this once and that you should know where it is!" Jade said quickly, seeing the stream nod.

"I absolutely do know where it is. Don't waste any time my child. There is a castle, called the Castle of Castile. There is a Queen you will meet, a very kind hearted and generous Queen who would be more than happy to bring you back home. Listen to me very carefully and do as I say. Keep following the stream and you will find a town and many towns after that. Don't bother to be distracted by the towns or the people in it, just travel through them and in a two and a half a day's walk, you will arrive at the Castle of Castile. Understood my love?" Dumbledore asked.

Jade nodded frantically, hanging on to his every word.

"Completely! Oh I'm so glad to see you again Dumbledore. I thought we were-"

"Stop being foolish little girl and start walking!" he fumed suddenly. Jade instantly shut up and stared at him in astonishment. The face suddenly softened and smiled gently at her.

"I am sorry my child. I don't want you to waste your time speaking to me. I want you to reach the castle as soon as possible. That's all." He said. Jade regained her voice back and nodded.

"Yes of course. I'm sorry; I shouldn't keep talking like an idiot. We're on our way Dumbledore." Jade said picking up her things. She shoved her feet into her shoes and started walking off. Draco watched the face turn to him and in all of Draco's life; he had never seen Dumbledore angry or looking threatening like this stream had been.

"Go on." Dumbledore told him.

With one last long look, Draco picked his robe up and left after Jade who by this point had been walking quickly to reach the castle. He knew something was wrong about that stream. He always saw Dumbledore to be an extremely patient and calm man even in the worst of situations but today, he saw something different and felt different. His gut was telling him that something was wrong but what could be wrong? It was Dumbledore. But if that was Dumbledore, then surely he'd have to warn them about taking certain precautions and be specific about them since their lives were in danger. Why did he feel as if the Castle in Castile was the danger?

"Hey Harper!" Malfoy called. Jade turned around, shooting him a dirty look.

"Sod off Malfoy, there's no time for you to engage in an insult showdown. We have a castle to go to." Jade said.

"Just wait a minute and listen to me. I think-"

"I don't care about anything _you_ think Malfoy. You can go to hell." Jade said walking a bit faster. Suddenly, she felt a yank from her arm and she looked furiously at Malfoy who tried to control his anger.

"Merlin, you can just irritate me sometimes." He said seeing her yank herself off him and take a step back.

"You mind your distance around me. I won't let you try to make me stay here again. It's not going to happen, do you hear?" Jade asked pointing a finger at him.

"Gods! That's not what I wanted to say! I-" he stopped to see her start running for it, away from him.

* * *

"The boy does not trust me. He isn't as gullible as the girl, though they seem to deeply dislike each other. It could present a problem for me. He won't want to come after her." The Queen said to one of her guards.

"I want them both here…especially that boy. None of the two should live…none. This Portkey is mine. Only mine." The Queen hissed.

* * *

Jade felt herself slowing down and she stopped to take a breath.

"What's wrong with you?" Malfoy asked seeing Jade place her hands on her thighs and pant.

"I don't think I can go any further. I'm exhausted." Jade said settling down on a rock. Malfoy who had left his robes a long while back was shiny from the sweat he was created. They had been walking for twenty minutes and already they were feeling exhausted and dizzy. Jade placed a hand on her stomach and winced.

"I'm so hungry." She said looking up to see Malfoy look around.

"Well it's a bloody jungle, there must be _something_ growing that's edible." He said. Jade got up ignoring the pangs of hunger in her stomach. She pointed to the trees above and showed Malfoy the coconuts that were hanging from high above.

"Great, all we need is a bloody broom that we don't have!" Malfoy said turning to Jade who shook her head and took out her wand.

"Honestly, are you a wizard or not? _Accio coconuts_!" Jade shouted. The tree shook violently as the coconuts detached and started to zoom towards Jade and Draco who started to run and dodge the heavy green coconuts that threatened to kill them.

"_Too bloody smart you are!_" Draco yelled when a coconut hit him on the leg as he moved from one that aimed for his chest. Jade sat on the rock with a shielding charm on as the coconuts bounced off of the shield and on to the floor.

"I know." Jade said pleasantly, loving that Malfoy at least got hit with something that was equivalently as big as his head. He snarled at her as Jade picked up one of the coconuts and handed it to him.

"I don't want to eat this. It's all water inside and some slimy meat inside. This isn't real food." He said tossing it aside. Jade knew that he was right, but it was at least _something_.

"It's better than nothing." Jade said pointing her wand at it and slicing the fruit open. It was warm but sweet and the flesh of the coconut tasted pleasant.

"I'm going off to find something real to eat." Malfoy said walking off.

"No! You can't go anywhere without me Malfoy! If you get lost, I won't bother to go out and find you." Jade told him, seeing him wave dismissively at her. Jade sat for a few minutes feeling highly uncomfortable by herself. As much as she hated Malfoy, she couldn't stand to be by herself in a jungle. She pushed herself off the rock and started to walk in the direction where Malfoy had gone off to find 'real food.' She hoped that he wasn't stupid enough to eat something that wasn't familiar to him. Most of the fruits and things that grew in the jungle were poisonous, especially the ones that were generally attractive. She pushed a few vines out of her way and watched wherever she would step in case of snakes or other things.

"Malfoy?!" Jade called, hearing a snap nearby. She looked to her left and stumbled through the thick tree trunks in front of her. She saw Malfoy standing there, inspecting a cocoa tree.

"Did you get your steak and kidney pie with roasted potato dinner?" Jade asked. He shot an annoyed look at her and ripped the fruit from the tree.

"Is this why your mother and brothers find it funny when I run you over? Because you're so annoying or are there any other underlying problems that I should know about?" he asked cracking the fruit open.

"Tell me when you find out. I'd love to know why." Jade said dryly. She saw Malfoy take out a small slimy piece of the cocoa fruit and stuck it in his mouth. He looked disgusted before he tried it, probably because he never had to eat with his fingers. Jade suppressed a laugh knowing that Draco Malfoy probably missed a fork and a spoon more than anything else in the world right now.

"How is it?" Jade asked seeing him hold it out for her.

"It's sweet. You try." He told her.

Jade went to take a piece but a crack of a branch caused them to turn around. Jade felt her heart drop. She was definitely going to die before reaching the castle. In front of them stood a black panther, watching them dangerously with its light yellow-green eyes.

"Oh my God." Jade croaked, unable to move. It slowly took one step and licked its lip as if its mouth was already watering.

"We're going to die." Malfoy said behind her. If Jade wasn't too terrified, she would have turned around and punched him in the mouth. He couldn't shut up and stand still.

"What are you doing?" Jade asked without moving her lips, still standing as still as she could.

"I'm going to make a run for it. I'm not going to stand around and get eaten." He told her, tightening his shoelaces.

"You don't stand a chance. He's going to chase you and outrun you." Jade said seeing the panther take another step towards them.

"Wrong." Malfoy said taking a step back. "I'm going to outrun you." he said bolting.

Jade saw him run off and she turned back to the panther who had his eyes fixed on her and her only, not even giving Malfoy a second look.


	11. Strangers in The Jungle

"Please…please make this quick!" Jade said closing her eyes tightly. She heard a roar and she screamed as loud as she could, waiting to be knocked down and for the panther to crush her skull with its ridiculously strong jaw.

"Get out of here!" someone roared. Jade opened her eyes and saw the panther rushing away as a man tried to chase him away by swinging his sword. How was this happening? How could a human chase a panther away without any weapons? Jade was flabbergasted as the man turned around and sheathed his sword.

"Are you all right?" he asked, his voice as soothing as honey. Jade was rooted to her spot and stared at him, seeing him look at her with concern. He had long dark blonde hair, softening his sharp features. He had a pointed nose and high cheekbones that gave him a regal look. His eyes were probably the most beautiful little gems that Jade had ever seen; light hazel eyes that were soft and kind.

"Are you all right?" he asked again. Jade realized that he came closer to her and that she had to bend her neck to look up at him. "I-I'm fine." Jade stuttered feeling herself come to a blush. He chuckled, revealing his straight white teeth.

"I don't think you are my lady." He said taking her hand. He pulled her and started walking towards what looked like a cart used for plowing fields. "Have a seat." He said pulling the rear door of the cart down for her to sit in. "Jack, bring the basket." The man ordered.

Jade nervously watched another man hope off the horse and wobble towards her with a basket of food.

"Hungry little deary?" he asked giving her a gritty smile. Jade recoiled from his grimy appearance and saw the man who saved her life shoo him off.

"I'm sorry; I really should tell him to bathe more often so he won't scare people." He said giving her a friendly smile as he poured a drink for her. He held it out for her and Jade took it from him, feeling immensely grateful for him to save her. She sipped the sweet drink and looked at it curiously.

"What is this? This isn't butterbeer." Jade said looking at the man who looked confused.

"Butterbeer? What's butterbeer? This is ale." He said. Jade went to explain what butterbeer was but she stopped. What if he was a muggle?

"It's nothing. This is nice." Jade said drinking a little bit of ale again.

"Have you been traveling alone?" he asked, his eyes curious and hard suddenly. Jade lowered the wooden cup in her hand and shook her head at him, seeing him raise his eyebrows.

"Draco. I'm with-well I was, with a boy my age. He ran when he saw the panther." Jade said seeing him nod and smirk slightly.

"We should find your friend then." He said. Jade wanted to say no but didn't. Who knew where that coward went anyways?

'_I hope that bloody cat ate you before I do._' Jade thought bitterly.

"Go on Jack, we have to find the lady's friend before he gets eaten by that wild beast." The man ordered Jack who nodded and whipped the horses to start moving. The man reached into the basket and pulled out bread and cheese for Jade to eat. Jade who hadn't eaten anything all day took it appreciatively and stuffed her face, hoping that he wouldn't be disgusted by her. Instead he watched her, amused by watching her eat.

"My name is Nicolas." He said holding out a hand. He gave Jade a large heartwarming smile and Jade smiled back, taking his hand.

"Jade Harper." She said shyly.

"That's a beautiful name. Jade Harper." He said thoughtfully, looking at the trees.

"Thank you." she said. She sat there, looking at him and thinking. They were definitely in England because of his accent, but what part of it?

"Where are you from?" Jade asked seeing him turn to her, fixing his beautiful hazel eyes at her.

"I'm from here. Where are you from?" he asked.

"Hogwarts. What is this place called?" Jade asked trying to get him to be specific.

"This is Castile my love." He said his eyes glittering.

Jade felt her heart flutter and soar when she heard him refer to her that way but she tried to be on point. It was hard to try and make the effort to go back home when the most handsome man sat right next to her, smiling and speaking so sweetly.

"Castile? I've never heard of Castile before." Jade muttered to herself.

"And I've certainly never heard of Hogwarts either." Nicolas said lightly seeing Jade smile and nod.

"Well that makes a tie." Jade said. He quirked his eyebrow and sat against the side of the cart.

"Are women as beautiful as you in Hogwarts?" he asked. Jade nearly fell from the cart from his blunt approach to flirt with her.

"Er-"

"Is that the boy?" Jack asked rudely. Jade whipped around to see Malfoy walking near the stream, far away. The cart stopped and Jade jumped off it, running to him.

"Jade! Jade!" Nicolas called. Jade ran towards Malfoy and saw him turn around from hearing Jade's name being called by Nicolas.

"Where the hell did you run off to? You selfish dirty prick!" Jade yelled, shoving him.

He looked at her bewilderedly and pointed to her. "I thought you were-"

"Dead? Sorry I'm not. How could you just leave me standing there by myself in front of that thing?!" Jade asked.

"Sorry to burst your bubble Harper but I don't give a dragon's _shit_ about you. I'm not obligated to save your life because frankly, I don't care. It was either you or me and I'd rather save myself if you please." He said seeing her get stung from his words. She stared at him feeling hurt but quickly recovered from it to realize that it was him who had sent her here in the first place. She felt more and more hate for this man that she could ever possibly have for anyone else.

"I see we have found your friend Draco." Nicolas said appearing by Jade's side. Jade still glared at Malfoy, feeling tears come to her eyes. This man had almost killed her twice today.

"My name is Nicolas. I had been traveling through the jungle with my servant Jack and found you both, but you had already taken flight." Nicolas said goodheartedly to Malfoy who stared at him as if he were a pile of dirt.

"What do you want? What the fuck is he wearing?" Malfoy asked rudely. Jade snapped her head at Malfoy and clenched her jaw knowing that if Nicolas walked away from them, she'd personally strangle Draco Malfoy to his death. Nicolas who didn't seem offended by Draco's bad manners spoke as if Draco had complimented him.

"Well I was on my way to the Kingdom of Castile and thought why not offer you both a ride?" he asked carefully seeing Malfoy narrow his eyes at him.

"How did you know we were going there?" Malfoy asked. Nicolas raised his eyebrows at Malfoy and shook his head.

"I didn't! Are you going to the Castle of Castile? That's great, we'll go together." Nicolas said turning to Jade who smiled at him. There was nothing more Jade wanted to do to have this man's company. Nicolas turned to Malfoy who was disgusted at what he saw. "You look parched and hungry. I have hot food and drinks back in the cart." Nicolas said.

Draco wanted to say no but to turn down food was a deal breaker for him. "Where is it?" Draco asked as Nicolas gestured towards the cart.

"This way Draco." Nicolas said. Draco walked off as Nicolas led them to it. Draco didn't trust the Dumbledore's face of the stream and didn't trust this Nicolas man either. Draco definitely didn't want to visit the Castle of Castile, there was something that was horribly wrong and he definitely felt it. He watched Nicolas help Harper onto the cart and the two exchanged a sickening look.

"Ladies first." Nicolas said kissing Harper's hand who did nothing but blush like an idiot and thank him. Nicolas turned to Draco who had walked up to the cart and helped himself get on. He sat next to Jade who crossed her arms and looked away, ignoring him. Well at least he didn't have to put up with her. Nicolas handed Draco a basket of food and told him it was all his. Draco happily rummaged through the basket finding bread, cheese, meat and a jug of what looked like butterbeer.

"I'll be happy to pour that for you Draco." Nicolas said taking a wooden cup and the jug of ale. Draco muttered a thanks as Nicolas poured him a cup of ale and handed it to him as Draco ate.

"So Jade tells me that you both are from Hogwarts?" Nicolas asked seeing Draco nod. Jade immediately turned to Draco who had caught her eyes and she flashed her eyes at him as if there was something he should be doing. She opened her mouth and mouthed the word 'muggle'. He instantly understood and looked at Nicolas who was looking at him intensely.

"Yes well…we are." Draco said.

"Where is this place?" Nicolas asked.

"Um…" Draco said looking at Jade who looked at Nicolas.

"It's a bit far. How far is the Castle of Castile? I've heard the Queen was very kind?" Jade asked straying from the topic of Hogwarts. Nicolas's eyes brightened up and he nodded.

"Queen Castile yes…she is one of the greatest Queens to have ever lived. A very powerful Queen who has the power and strength to do absolutely anything." Nicolas said, his eyes growing wide with fascination as he spoke about her.

Throughout the cart ride, Draco tried as hard as he could to ignore Harper and her new love interest Nicolas. He had been watching for a while how Nicolas would sneak flirty looks towards her and she'd receive it and she'd act coy. It was a bizarre thing for him to see. He had never seen this side of Harper before and never witnessed her looking so interested in someone or flirting around with a man. He knew she had dated Potter before but that was all he knew. He never had them sit next to him and flirt right in front of his face, thank Merlin for that. The cart came to a halt but they were still in the jungle.

"Sir Nicolas, the horse is tired. They refuse to go on any longer." Jack said climbing off the horse.

"Why now?" Nicolas asked irritably.

"I'm sorry master." Jack said.

Nicolas glared at him and turned back to Jade, his eyes growing kind and soft. "We must spend the night here." Nicolas said.

Jade panicked and she leaned back a little feeling immensely scared. A night in the jungle? They weren't safe while they were up and walking and she was going to sleep to be vulnerable to them? She felt Nicolas take her hands and squeeze it lightly.

"I promise my lady, that I won't let anything happen to you. No harm will come to you as long as I'm here." Nicolas said gently.

"No, no! Absolutely not! I'm not going to spend a night in the jungle at all. You all can stay here, excuse me." Malfoy said pushing Nicolas and Jade apart. He hopped off the cart and went to leave but Jack blocked his way. "Get out of my way you fat ugly Muggle." Draco spat.

Jack who had idea what Draco had just called him, stared at Draco, insulted and angrily.

"It's not a good idea to wander off alone in the jungle Draco. You never know what kind of dangers lurk around." Nicolas told him.

Draco turned around and looked at him, seeing him still holding on to Jade's hand. Draco didn't like the way Nicolas was looking at him and how Jack had stopped him from going. He felt as if he was some sort of prisoner to them.

"Besides, you won't get lucky the next time you stumble across another panther. This jungle has worse creatures." Nicolas said looking around. They heard crickets nearby and Draco gave in.

"I'm not sleeping." Draco told them. Nicolas shrugged, throwing his hands to his sides.

"Suit yourself Draco. We'll all protect the lady." Nicolas said taking Jade's hand and bringing it to his lips. Draco turned around and rolled his eyes.

"Not really interested if something eats her and will most definitely not protect her either." Draco mumbled to himself.

They watched Jack build a fire and Nicolas walked off to gather up something for everyone to lie on to sleep. Jade and Draco sat side by side as they watched Jack prepare a fire the muggle way which irritated Draco. He pointed the wand to the fire when Jack wasn't looking and whispered the spell which ignited the fire. Jack didn't react to the fire; instead he got up and looked at Draco, walking away.

"He's nutters. I wouldn't trust him while I'm sleeping. Him or your boyfriend." Draco said watching Jack who fed the horse some water.

"He's not my boyfriend. Quit being so annoying." Jade said seeing Draco smirk.

"He's not your boyfriend yet? Nicky's not even letting any inch of your skin untouched. He's kissed everything except your mouth and your-"

"Sod off and mind your bloody business." Jade growled.

Draco smirked at her and looked up to see Nicolas coming back with thick leaves that would be used to make a hammock. Jack and Nicolas quickly made three hammocks and tested them for durability and strength.

Draco wished he would have pushed Harper off the cart. The way she would sometimes look at Nicolas was starting to irritate him to death. He didn't entirely put the blame on her; it was Nicolas that was getting her to drool all over him. Who honestly told him to take his shirt off and work on the hammocks when there were a gazillion mosquitoes flying around that Draco had to slap or rub off? He saw Nicolas look at Jade out of the corner of his eye to make sure that she was watching his half naked self work.

'_Dirty, cheap man. Desperate…especially if he has to try this hard with Harper._' Draco thought. He wanted to be rude and tell Nicolas that there were far more better women in the world and the last person he'd want to waste his time and effort on was Harper. He looked back at Harper and was surprised to see a new look in her eyes. Lust. Draco wrinkled his forehead, watching her face. She bit her bottom lip intentionally or not, Draco couldn't tell but this was definitely a first. He wanted to laugh his arse off or take a picture to show it to Potter if they ever got back.

She suddenly glanced at Draco and stared at him, wondering why he was looking at her. Draco looked away and saw Nicolas patting his hands.

"We're done. My lady, you may have your rest on the hammock." Nicolas said holding his hand out for Jade who took it gladly.

Jade followed Nicolas towards the hammock and saw him turn around to her. She was still in her Hogwarts uniform and felt stupid for having it on in front of him.

"Sleep well Jade." Nicolas said softly.

She smiled weakly feeling her knees go weak by his smile. She swore that he felt the same way she felt. If it weren't for Jack and Malfoy, he too would have taken the opportunity to do both of their bodies good. The fire that was built made everything glow about him, making it even harder for Jade to want to go to sleep. She wanted to sit with him and talk to him, not to sleep by herself! Nicolas wrapped his hands around her waist and lifted her onto the hammock. Jade steadied herself on the stiff and uncomfortable hammock that scratched her legs from the husk it was made from. She lied down and nodded at Nicolas who asked if she was comfortable.

"I'm fine. Thank you." Jade said. He brushed his fingers against her cheek and wished her goodnight once more before he left.

"I'll be on the cart. I won't be sleeping tonight." Draco told Nicolas. Jack who went to argue was stopped by Nicolas who bowed his head slightly and gave a smile that seemed extremely fake to Draco.

"Very well Draco. Jack you shall be taking a hammock." Nicolas ordered. Jack wanted to argue but thought for the better of it. He gave up and trudged off towards the hammock that was supposed to be Draco's. Draco looked back at Nicolas who approached him and shook his head. "You know…I have a feeling that you don't trust me Draco." Nicolas said meeting Draco's eyes.

"Do I? Oh my goodness, why would that be?" Draco asked sarcastically. Nicolas narrowed his eyes dangerously at Draco and jerked his head towards Jade.

"Your friend is fond of me." Nicolas said.

"That's because she's an idiot. I don't trust anyone but myself." Draco said seeing Nicolas smirk.

"Good instinct." Nicolas said. He looked behind him to see that Jade was completely asleep and leaned forward to Draco. "But I'm afraid your friend can't see anything else except for me." Nicolas said.

Draco looked through him and knew that he was right all along. Nicolas was a shady man, harboring ill intentions for that stupid Harper. Draco watched him walk away and fall asleep on his hammock and thought about what he would do now. He didn't really care about Harper or whatever happened to her but felt a twinge of pity for her. He sat for a few hours, feeling himself nod off to sleep once in a while and then completely try to stay awake, swatting mosquitoes and listening to the sounds of the jungle at night.

He heard a small groan and looked up to see Harper's leg dangle from the hammock. He placed his head on his hand and watched her move her head around and her shoulders shift from the uncomfortable material of the hammock. He heard a small hiss and looked down to see a snake directly under her hammock, raised to strike at her leg. He saw her inch her body to the side, making the hammock turn slightly and at any moment, it could flip over and she'd fall right on the snake which would kill her with one venomous bite.

He drew his wand out and muttered a hex at the snake that Snape had taught him in his second year. The snake crumbled into ashes and Draco hopped off the cart to see Jade move her body around. He took a few swift steps towards her and made it just in time before she fell right into the ground. He held her for a moment, seeing her open her eyes and mumble something. She immediately closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest, making him want to dump her body on the floor. He lifted her body back into the hammock and saw her sleep soundly.


	12. Separate Ways

The next morning, everyone woke up and were ready to leave for the Castle of Castile. Draco sat again with Nicolas and Harper wishing he hadn't. The two were chattering nonstop about each other and occasionally flirting once in a while. He wondered if he should tell Harper that Nicolas was no good for her and he was probably planning something else than courting her.

_'What do I give if she gets hurt or not? She's not important to me and she's definitely not my responsibility.'_ Draco thought to himself.

The carriage stopped a few hours later and Jade sat next to Nicolas on a rock as Jack let his horse drink from the river.

"I have a stepmother and two brothers." Jade told him watching him take her hand.

"Where's your father?" he asked gently.

Jade sighed and looked away to see Malfoy a few meters away, tossing wild berries nearby. "He died a few years ago…I really do miss him more than anything actually. Besides my wicked stepmother and her two sons which are equivalent to Cinderella's stepsisters give me a more reasons to miss him terribly." Jade said seeing him look confused.

"Who is Cinderella?" he asked.

Jade blinked at him, wondering why he would ask her that. Wasn't he a muggle? Didn't he know that? "Cinderella? You don't know Cinderella?" Jade asked seeing him shake his head slowly.

"I'm afraid I don't understand you. Does this have to do with Castile?" he asked seeing Jade shake her head.

"Pumpkins that turn into carriages, mice that turn into horses? The glass slipper? Prince charming?" Jade asked seeing him laugh at her.

"Magic? Is that what you're getting at?" he asked seeing Jade look a tad bit nervous.

"You've never heard of fairy tales?" Jade asked seeing him shake his head.

"Be careful Jade. You don't want to go around speaking about magic so easily. You'd be killed for it, but I'm fond of you and I wouldn't dare to let anything happen to you." he said moving her hair back slowly.

Jade felt the goose bumps on her skin rise as he leaned in close to her face. He softly kissed her lips and lingered for a moment before kissing her again. Jade almost died from being kissed by Nicolas. He was the sweetest and the most considerate man she had ever met in her life. Harry couldn't even kiss the way Nicolas but Jade still felt a pang of pain whenever she thought about Harry. Jade wrapped her arm tighter around his neck, feeling him bring her closer and kissing her intensely.

Draco was walking back to Harper and Nicolas and wasn't surprised to see them snogging the living daylights out of each other. He was disgusted and made faces seeing Harper being attacked viciously by Nicolas. He shook his head and walked towards the river to see Jack peeking at Nicolas and Jade, obviously extremely aroused at what he was seeing. He watched with fascination and licked his lips as if he were being kissed to which repulsed Draco. Jack turned to see Draco standing there and he snarled at her.

"Don't be too happy to see me." Draco said lightly. Jack only gave him a dirty look and muttered insults about Draco as he left with his horse. Draco followed him back to the cart as Jack strapped the horse together.

Jade broke off the kiss knowing that it was going a little out of hand. Nicolas had started to remove her shirt but she couldn't allow it, not in front of Malfoy and that creepy servant Jack.

"We have to go back to the cart." Jade whispered, seeing his eyes flash in anger. He looked like he was trying to control something in him and Jade couldn't blame him. He suddenly changed and smiled, smoothing out her hair.

"Let's go back." He whispered. Jade's heart was still pounding from the kiss as they walked back to the cart. She saw that Malfoy was back on the cart looking more annoyed than usual and Jack stare at her hungrily, sending shivers down her spine. "Give me a minute." Nicolas said after helping Jade board the cart. He walked off towards Jack and exchanged a few words with him.

While he was away, Jade looked at Draco who had his mouth curled into a sneer.

"What?" Jade snapped.

He shrugged slightly, still looking distastefully at her. "I don't see what he sees in you. Or maybe he doesn't see at all, since he's so busy sucking your face off." Draco said seeing her open her mouth and look at him hatefully.

"What's your bloody problem Malfoy? Can't you mind your business?" Jade asked.

"Mind _my_ business? You were proudly snogging each other's brains out in front of me and that creep. I didn't ask to see you make out with that prick but the prick's servant almost looked like he was about to wank off by watching you both." Draco said quietly as Nicolas came back. Jade didn't have the time to respond to him. She instead kept her mouth closed but her face burned bright red and she glared at Malfoy who enjoyed ruining everything for her.

Jade furious at Malfoy. She wanted to rip his head off and kick him into the river, anything that would calm her down. She couldn't believe he was watching her private moment with Nicolas! That bloody pig! She felt Nicolas wrap and arm around her and she placed her head on his shoulder waiting to be out of the jungle as soon as possible. She felt Nicolas place a finger under her chin to lift her face up to kiss him. Jade panicked and also felt irritated to kiss him again when Malfoy was right in front of her, watching. She refused the kiss and leaned away from him, crossing her arms so he'd take the hint and leave her alone. She felt even angrier when she saw a sly triumphant smirk come over his face and she looked away and breathed to ten slowly so she wouldn't snap and kill Malfoy.

Draco couldn't help but smirk seeing Jade refuse Nicolas's kiss. Before Nicolas had kissed her, he had given Malfoy a challenging look. He went to prove that he had complete power over Harper but was nearly dumbfounded when she had rejected him. In a way, Draco wanted to pat Harper on the back for not letting Nicolas the prick to get to her. He looked at Jade who looked as if she was ready to claw his eyes out. He smiled a little to see her mad. At least he killed two birds with one stone. Making Nicolas lose and pissing Jade Harper off.

"We're in the town of Castile." Jack announced. Jade sat up to see that they were in front of a bridge. Jack handed the bridge guards some money and they allowed him in. She looked at the town of Castile and her mouth dropped as they crossed over a bridge and looked around to see people that weren't dressed as muggles nor wizards. They were wearing tunics and hoses and funny looking leather shoes that people in the Middle ages wore. Women wore dresses and bodices with headdresses that seemed like it was a style.

"These people sure know how to dress funny." Malfoy said looking around to see the women look at him and giggle lightly.

"You shouldn't be the one to talk Draco. I never asked why you're wearing that funny looking short tunic." Nicolas said pointing to Draco's school shirt.

"There's nothing wrong with my shirt. It's a school uniform." Malfoy informed him.

"You still go to school?" Nicolas mocked.

"What's the year?" Jade interrupted. Nicolas, Malfoy and Jack turned to her and looked at her as if she was stupid.

"My dog knows the answer to that question." Jack muttered.

"Be respectful to the lady." Nicolas commanded.

"Yes Master." Jack immediately said. Nicolas then turned to Jade and looked at her questioningly.

"Don't you know what year this is?" Nicolas asked. Jade looked around to the town to see that everything was old fashioned. Nothing like Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade. The stores were all lined up but had no signs on them. Women and men walked around with a wooden pail with water in them and even the children were a bit dirty wearing brown and beige tunics with leather shoes. She knew for a fact that they were not magical people but were certainly muggles but didn't look like them.

"What are you on Harper?" Malfoy asked Jade who ignored him.

"The year Nicolas?" Jade asked turning to Nicolas who had a calculating stare on her.

"1304." He answered her.

Jade stared at him, feeling as if the world underneath her feet had been removed. They were in a different year…centuries from Hogwarts, not miles. She turned to Malfoy, looking horrified. Malfoy gaped at Nicolas and none of them could get up and ask what or why.

"Oh…of course!" Jade managed.

"You look surprised Jade." Nicolas said touching her hand. Jade looked at Malfoy who looked incredibly afraid and worried.

"I'm…not." Jade said shaking her head. Nicolas nodded but Jade knew that he didn't believe her.

"Why don't you come with me? We'll eat here and leave in the evening. The Castle of Castile is only two days away." Nicolas said stepping off the cart. He held his hand out for Jade to take and Jade stepped off, feeling the sense of loss not far away. If they didn't find this Portkey, they'd be stuck here in the year of 1304, the period where witch hunts were most famous for. Jade wanted to cry.

The Portkey back to Hogwarts seemed like a lost task now. If they didn't find it, they'd be lost for sure. Nicolas led Jade and Draco to one of the small taverns to get something to eat. Jade didn't like the way the men stared at her. They looked her up and down and to her bare legs. She suddenly felt naked to be in front of them while all the women she saw were wearing dresses. She sat down next to Nicolas hearing the entire tavern quiet as they stared at the newcomers.

"My, my if it isn't Nicolas. What brings you here today?" a busty woman asked walking up to them. Her dress was tight on her and her bodice looked like it was about to burst, especially when her breasts were nearly overflowing from them. She shot Jade a dirty look and Jade looked away quickly, not meaning to be rude. Jade looked at Malfoy who was almost gaping at the curvaceous woman. She batted her eyelashes and lowered herself just so Malfoy could have a good peek at what she had to offer.

"We're here to eat Betsy. What are you serving today?" Nicolas asked as Betsy told them what she had, occasionally looking at Malfoy and blushing red. Jade saw Malfoy squirm uncomfortably in his seat. She could tell he was uncomfortable but the thought of such a big woman flinging him around was enough to cause her to giggle. Everyone looked at her and Jade giggled meeting eyes with Malfoy who wondered what on earth she was laughing about. He then understood why she was laughing from the mock look in her eyes and he glared at her.

"What's so funny?" Nicolas asked smiling at Jade who shook her head, covering her mouth from laughing again.

"Nothing. Harper's mentally disturbed." Malfoy explained. Nicolas looked at Jade who calmed down but still smiled.

"I'll get you all some ale." Betsy said walking away.

When Betsy left, Nicolas took Jade's hand and started to talk to her and Draco about the towns and guilds of Castile.

"There are several towns in Castile, but this and the two towns ahead before the Castle are the main ones of Castile." Nicolas explained as Jade and Draco listened keenly. "Every town and village of Castile are prosperous, all thanks to our Queen." Nicolas said, his eyes glittering maliciously.

Jade suddenly felt something was odd about Nicolas's obsessive talk about the Queen. She noted that every time they spoke about the Queen, Nicolas would completely channel all this energy and focus on explaining how mysteriously powerful his Queen was.

Betsy came back with their food and set it on the table. Everyone watched them eat and Jade looked around to see that some of the men looked hungry and worn out. She almost spit the meat out to taste that it was only salted and nothing else. The bread was hard and crusty and she lost her appetite, only sipping the ale. She saw Nicolas dipping his bread in the ale and eat it so she thought she'd give it a try. She saw that Malfoy almost laughed when she looked like she was having a hard time swallowing the soaked bread.

"Are you all right?" Nicolas asked Jade who nodded with the bread still in her mouth.

"I'm full." Jade said pushing her plate away after swallowing the ale soaked bread. She felt a bit nauseated from the food wishing that she'd be back in Hogwarts to eat the steaming and mouth watering foods there. Her desire to go back to Hogwarts was almost too overwhelming. After they were finished eating, Nicolas told them that he had to find Jack and the horse and had to make sure that they were ready to leave. He got up and left leaving Jade and Draco alone.

"Malfoy we need to get to the Castle of Castile as soon as we can. I can't stand a minute longer with all this shit for food and I haven't even taken a shower since yesterday!" Jade whispered seeing him throw a robe at her.

"Put it on, they look like they're about to jump on you." he said irritably, looking around at the sweaty and dirty men who had their cups in their clutch, staring perversely at Jade. Jade wondered how he got so nice all of a sudden.

"Thank you." Jade said seeing him wave his hand and shake his head.

"I don't think we should go to the castle." Draco said. Jade couldn't believe what he had just told her. He wanted to stay here?

"Pardon me? I don't think I caught that. Did you just say you didn't want to go to the castle…where the Portkey is?" Jade asked seeing him shake his head.

"You're making it sound like I'm a jackass. I just don't trust your prick and his creep to be taking us to the castle, one. Two, did you honestly think that, that was Dumbledore in the water?" Draco asked seeing Jade shake her head, getting frustrated.

"You're going insane Malfoy, would you listen to yourself? That was Dumbledore!" Jade said.

"How could you be so sure it was Dumbledore?" he asked. Jade gaped at him as if he were the most stupidest thing in the world.

"How could you be sure it's _not_?" Jade asked incredulously.

"Since when has Dumbledore referred to you as his love?" he asked seeing her raise an eyebrow.

"What in the hell are you talking about?" Jade asked.

"That's what he called you Harper. Dumbledore's usually a patient man, but he snapped on you while you were talking. Dumbledore doesn't do that." He said seeing Jade roll her eyes.

"Malfoy you're being too critical about this. Let's just go to the castle and-"

"I think it's a trap. I don't think anything is safe, especially if we're in a place where we don't know anyone. If you listen to me, we'll probably save our lives." Malfoy told her.

"Listen to you?" Jade asked narrowing her eyes at him. "We're going to get killed because of you, that's what you've been trying to do to me ever since I exposed you to Dumbledore." Jade said getting up to leave. She walked out of the tavern, outside where she saw everyone walking around. She felt someone grip her arm and turn her around. Jade gave Malfoy an icy look, seeing the frustration on his face.

"I wouldn't trust Nicolas if I were you. You're making a big mistake if you let him take you to the castle." He said. Jade smirked at him and crossed her arms.

"I'd trust him more than I'd ever trust you. And I'm doing myself a really big favor actually, but you're too stupid to understand. You hate him just because he's a good man who has a good heart." Jade said seeing Malfoy laugh evilly at her.

"Either you're too in love with him or you're the stupidest bimbo in the world. I think it's both." Malfoy said seeing Jade straighten up.

"Gee, thank you for your unwanted opinion of me. And here's one right back at you. Nicolas didn't give me a reason not to trust him. He's saved my life and saved us both the trouble by offering to take us to the Castle of Castile." Jade said.

"Do you not _see_ anything? Don't you ever think that he'd want something in return? Strangers don't just pick strangers up in _jungles_." He said knowing that it was a completely reasonable argument.

"Well just because you've been born without a heart, doesn't mean others have too. There are good people in this world Malfoy. I'm going to stick to Nicolas all the way to the Castle of Castile because I want to go home. If you're smart, you would too." Jade said seeing Malfoy's face stiffen. He had already made up his mind.

"I'm not going with you. I'm traveling by myself and you can tell your boyfriend that." He said going to leave but Jade panicked. As much as she hated him dearly, she didn't want to be alone by herself with Nicolas and that creep Jack. She liked Nicolas but she didn't know him well enough. She was much more comfortable around Malfoy who she knew and tried to kill her, but she felt much safer with him.

"No! Malfoy you can't leave me by myself!" Jade said grabbing his arm. She pulled and tugged but he turned around to see her plead.

"I thought you had your boyfriend?" he asked seeing her shake her head.

"Malfoy I don't even know him well enough! We have to stick together. I don't know anyone here but you." Jade said seeing him sigh and fully turn to her.

"I'm not going anywhere with him and that's final. You can come with me if you want, but you're not making me go with that prick and creep." He said.

"Please Malfoy! If anything happens, we'll have our wands." Jade said lowering her voice so other people won't hear. "They're muggles; they don't have a chance against us." Jade whispered. She felt a surge of hope when she saw him pause and think about it. Then he shook his head crushing everything.

"No. I don't care if they're muggles, wizards or harmless vegetables, I'm not going anywhere with them. They're distrustful and fake." He said.

Jade let go of his arm and stared at him. "They're not distrustful or fake at all! Sure Jack's a little strange but-"

"You're wasting your time and mine. You _want_ to go with them but I'm not and you won't make me." He said reasonably.

Jade took a step back looking furiously at him.

"You know what? If I get to the Portkey before you do, I won't wait for you at all. I'll leave you here." Jade said seeing him shrug as if it didn't bother him.

"Okay." He said simply.

Jade narrowed her eyes at him wondering if he heard her correctly. "Did you listen to me at all? I said I'll leave without you. I'll leave you here forever." Jade said looking into his smiling eyes.

"That's fine with me." He said smirking slightly. Jade shook her head lightly wondering what was getting into him. What was he so confident about?

"You don't care if I'll leave you?" Jade asked seeing him shake his head. They both stood in front of each other looking at each other. Jade took a deep breath and stuck out her hand. "Well then…I guess this is goodbye." Jade said awkwardly. She wanted to be angry and drag him to the cart but she couldn't. She was a little disheartened not to have him with her. She saw him shrug again, something that was irritating about him.

"I guess." He said. He shoved his hands in his pockets and watched her coolly. He didn't want to be alone either and definitely didn't prefer her to be around Nicolas. He had to constantly remind himself that he really didn't honestly care and shouldn't since she was nothing at all to him. If Nicolas and Harper wanted to do whatever they wanted to do, it shouldn't be any of Draco's concern.

His main concern was to get to the Portkey but with his own life in his own trust, not in someone else's. He tried to let Harper see sense in it but she was too damn stubborn about seeing the good in Nicolas. He had a strong feeling that this was probably the last time he was ever going to see Harper again. Living, breathing, standing, angry and alive. Though there was a very, very, very small part of him that believed that he'd see her again and that she'd come back and tell him that he was right all along…if she was lucky. He saw her still standing there so he took a step back, still watching her staring at him. He never liked her in Hogwarts but right now, he knew he was going to miss her company, no matter how much she insulted him.


	13. Return of The Black Panther

Jade saw him turn around finally and disappear into a sea full of people. Why was he such an idiot? Why couldn't he throw his ridiculous ego of his to save his life? How could he not be practical about any of this and accept a cart ride that would eventually lead him back to Hogwarts? There were so many questions along with insults swimming through her mind; Jade didn't notice that Nicolas had been calling for her attention.

"What were you thinking about? Where's your friend?" he asked suddenly alert and looking around. Jade still stared at the crowd filled street that had no signs of Malfoy anywhere.

"He's gone." Jade said wincing at the feel of it. She didn't like him to be gone. It felt so hard to be alone. Jade didn't notice Nicolas's eyes go wide with fury and disbelief.

"_Gone?_ He's left? Why on earth did he do that?!" Nicolas asked.

Jade broke her gaze from the street and looked at him to see that he was more panic stricken than she was. "He said he wanted to be on his own. What's wrong with you?" Jade asked seeing Nicolas run his hands through his hair, as if he'd just been given the news that someone had died. Why on earth was he reacting like this?

"Why did you let him go? I could have just spoken to him-"

"There was no use and besides we're fine. He can be on his own, none of us minded." Jade said seeing Nicolas gulp nervously. "Is everything all right Nicolas? You look sick." Jade said seeing Nicolas shake his head.

"I'm fine. I'm fine." Nicolas said repeatedly.

Jade didn't believe him. He looked like he was ready to throw up. Maybe she should just turn around and call Malfoy back to tell him that Nicolas was probably going to collapse without his company. His reaction to listening to Draco's leave was disturbing and it made Jade think that he probably had eyes on Malfoy all along than her. He finally straightened up and calmed himself down and saw him wince at the face that Jade was making at him.

"I'm just…he could have said goodbye." Nicolas said. Jade raised her eyebrows and allowed him to take her hand. "But you're still here." He said, his face still grim about Malfoy leaving. He pulled her off and Jade followed him back to the cart where Jack waited. Jade suddenly felt off about being alone with both of them. She no longer had Malfoy there with her. Jade boarded on the carriage and heard Jack ask about Draco.

"He decided to leave us." Nicolas said flatly. Jack gasped horrifically and turned around.

"But _why_?! We nearly had them!" Jack yelled.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jade snapped. Nicolas shot an angry look towards Jack for speaking.

"I told you to speak when spoken to. Remember your place peasant." Nicolas growled. Jade had never seen Nicolas this angry before. He bared his teeth and gave Jack a murderous glare, causing him to shrivel in his saddle. Nicolas then turned to Jade with the same murderous glare and for a split second, Jade thought the glare was for her. In the blink of an eye, Nicolas changed his face and he appeared to be more calm and gentle. He gently touched her cheek and brushed the hair behind her ear.

"He means that we almost had you both in the castle. A bit silly to refuse a ride to somewhere so far away. Draco will have a hard time walking there." Nicolas explained to her. Jade took a deep breath and sighed.

"I know…what an idiot. I tried to explain the same thing to him but he didn't want to listen to me. I guess whatever happens, happens for the good." Jade said drawing her knees up and placing her arms on them. Nicolas sat back and Jade was unaware that he was glaring at her.

"I'm curious. What was his reason for leaving?" Nicolas asked curiously. Jade shrugged looking at him. She didn't want to tell him that Draco distrusted him; it would make him feel bad.

"He didn't tell me." Jade said. Nicolas looked like he wanted to ask more questions but didn't. There was definitely something going on in his mind that Jade couldn't quite understand. He barely knew Draco and here he was, completely upset along with his servant Jack over Draco's decision not to go any further with them. They started leaving the town that they had settled in and entered a forest. No one was speaking, not even Nicolas.

After a few long hours, the day was coming to a close and they were still in the forest. Jack stopped his horse and slid off to build a fire again. The forest was much more spaced out and less cramped than the jungle. There were less trees everywhere and less threatening animals that were likely to kill. Jade watched Jack and Nicolas make another hammock and muttered between themselves so Jade wasn't listening. She looked by her side and didn't see the blonde Slytherin sitting next to her, trying to get her mad.

"The hammock is ready Jade." Nicolas said less enthusiastically than he used to. Jade nodded and jumped off the carriage as Jack started to prepare something for them to eat.

"Nicolas, I have to go." Jade said seeing his eyes widen. Jack dropped the cup he was holding and stared at Jade frantically.

"Go where?" Nicolas asked savagely. Jade nearly doubled back in shock. She only wanted to go to the bathroom.

"I…I need to go to the toilet." Jade said seeing him still watch her, his face upturned into the most vicious glares.

"I need to pee...urinate." Jade said feeling herself blush crimson. She never said that to anyone after she was five. It was so childish and ridiculous to say right now for a man who had no idea what a toilet was in the 1300's. His face changed again, from one extreme to another.

"Oh." Was all he could say, though his face did not trust her? Jade felt that he was suspicious of her leaving as well without him. "Then go. I shall not bother you for more information." He said seeing Jade nod.

Jade turned around and walked away from them knowing that they were serious head cases and for a second, she thought it would have been a better idea to stick with Malfoy.

"Master, what if she too runs away? We shouldn't let her go so easily!" Jack said when Jade was completely out of sight. Nicolas turned around to Jack and smirked confidently.

"She won't run away, I'm confident of it. She's too afraid to be alone and can't bear to part with me." Nicolas said seeing Jade disappear from eyesight for privacy.

* * *

Jade adjusted her skirt and knew that if she didn't take a bath the next day, she'd kill herself. She made sounds of disgust as she picked at her clothes which were covered in dirt and sweat. She finally looked up and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the same Black Panther stare at her. She gasped sharply and felt the tears in her eyes well up. How was this Panther here in this forest from the jungle?

Her legs started quivering and she stepped back to feel a tree behind her. She was definitely going to die today. She could cry out for help but it would be too late. She'd be dead in seconds before Nicolas got to her.

"Oh no." Jade whimpered, starting to cry. The Black Panther slowly stalked towards her, it's yellow-green eyes brighter than before.

"Please don't be scared of me." It said softly.


	14. Escape

**Hey everyone! I'm back again and finally here to finish Portkey of Castile. For those of you wondering why it took so long, I was working on 'The Aurseize', 'Seven Days' and a few more stories. So basically, I abandoned it. But I've picked it right back up and finished it this time, so I'm updating and I am determined to have the entire story uploaded by this week or the next! I'm really sorry for the inconvienience I've caused and hopefully I'll be able to make it up with this story =P On a different note, I hope everyone is well and happy! I also hope you guys had a wonderful holiday this year and will have an amazing New Year! Much Love!**

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Jade felt her entire body freeze as she stared at the creature. Was this actually happening? Was a creature speaking to her? Jade gaped at the panther that came closer to her, next to her leg. It nuzzled its soft silky head against her leg and stepped back to see Jade stare in horror.

"Did you just speak?" Jade asked in a high pitched voice.

"Yes I have." It said.

It was the strangest thing Jade ever had to witness in her life. She grew up to muggle parents and when she had attended Hogwarts, she thought she'd never see anything more bizarre, but talking animals were nothing like she had ever seen before.

"I am not here to eat you. I am here to warn you. Your life is in danger." The panther said. Jade furrowed her eyebrows and looked at the panther questioningly.

"What are you talking about?" Jade asked.

"We haven't got much time. They will start to wonder why you are taking long. Nicolas and his servant work under Queen Castile." The panther explained.

"Yes…so?" Jade asked.

"And Queen Castile wants you and your friend dead." The panther said. Jade felt her heart drop. She widened her eyes at the panther who explained further.

"She has gotten back what she has wanted most in 99 years, after Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald had escaped with the Portkey of Castile. She does not want the same mistake to happen twice. She is luring you in with Nicolas but your friend has already escaped from their grasp." The panther said, putting itself in a sitting pose.

"That explains why Nicolas and Jack reacted so badly when they heard that Draco left." Jade said seeing the panther bow its head lightly.

"They were specifically asked to bring _both_ of you back to the castle. I shall have to tell you that the Queen was not too pleased about knowing that your friend had left right under their nose. If you care about your life at all, you will go back to the town to find your friend." The panther said.

"But the Portkey is in the castle!" Jade said. The panther bowed again.

"It is, but you should have to sneak in and steal it without having the Queen to know at all." The panther told her. Jade chewed her bottom lip, rethinking everything. So much information was thrown into her face, she needed to catch them and keep a cool head.

"But what about Dumbledore's face in the river?" Jade asked the panther. There was a hacking sound coming from the panther that Jade believed would be what a panther would sound like when it was laughing.

"That old Queen used the stream as a means of communicating with you and your partner. She needed you to bring yourselves into her hands by sending you directly to the path where she wanted and where she had sent her men for you. The trees, the rivers in uninhabited places such as the jungle and the forest have ears and report back to the Queen; most of them do. They serve as the Queens eyes and ears because muggles are useless to her." The Panther licked its paws as Jade looked behind her from the line of bushes to see Nicolas and Jack still eating.

"Are Nicolas and Jack muggles or wizards?" Jade asked cautiously.

"Probably one of the most hollow headed and unintelligent muggles I had ever seen, but then again I hardly see any muggles in my path." The cat said getting back on its four legs. "Just pretend to sleep and you will hear everything to confirm what I have just told you. They plan to do very horrible things to you and you should find your friend before any hard comes to him. The Queen cannot have any magical control over the towns filled with muggles otherwise there would be chaos. You must flee tonight and make your way towards the castle with your friend." he said starting to trot away.

"Flee by myself from them? I can't escape from two grown men! What if they try to kill me?" Jade asked.

"Trust me; I will take care of that. You must wait until they fall asleep to run. If anything goes wrong, I will be there." The panther promised. Jade gulped, feeling her throat tighten and the newfound feeling of terror shooting through her body. Her life was in danger in more ways than she could have ever imagined.

"Go, they are getting suspicious." The panther said disappearing off into the dark woods.

Jade heard Nicolas calling for her name. She shuddered, not wanting to go back to Nicolas who was a servant of the manipulative and cunning Queen of Castile. She had to gather up her will and be brave about facing death. She needed to challenge death, not run away from it. She needed to intimidate death. Jade took a deep breath and turned around. Her chest was swollen with courage and there was only one thing that was fixed in her mind. Make it to Hogwarts alive.

"Where were you? Why had it taken so long?" Nicolas asked taking her arm. Jade wanted to push him off her and send a good flying kick to his groin, just like she had to Malfoy when he had tried to make her late for her Transfiguration quiz.

"You shouldn't be asking a lady why it was taking so long in the loo." Jade said seeing him look embarrassed about it. "I'm tired. Goodnight." Jade said walking away and helping herself on to the hammock. She had her wand securely in place. If they went to do anything funny to her, she'd hex them to death. Jade closed her eyes and waited for an hour.

"The Queen will be furious. She will kill us for losing her friend." Jack said worriedly to Nicolas who nodded.

"We cannot do anything about it. We cannot bring the girl back to the town to look for her friend, which would just look too suspicious. You saw the way they act with each other. At each other's throats those two. She could care less about him and he could care less about her. If we were to go back to get her friend back, she would ask why we cared so much when she did not." Nicolas explained to Jack who seemed to get the idea.

"Oh…I never thought of it that way." Jack said, his eyes drooping. He yawned loudly and rubbed his face vigorously.

"Master…do you think the Queen would let me have her before she kills her off? I want her to scream under me." Jack said laughing gleefully. Nicolas smirked and looked towards Jade who was sleeping soundly.

"After I'm finished with her." Nicolas said seeing Jack grin widely.

"Oh but Master, you are so lucky she's kissed you! How did it feel? I know it felt mighty good." Jack said as Nicolas prepared for sleep.

"She is not shy as other women. Go to sleep. We have a long day ahead tomorrow." Nicolas said, closing his eyes.

They both fell asleep in a few minutes and didn't notice Jade scowling severely from listening to their conversation. If it were up to her, she'd cut them into tiny little pieces and feed it to the dogs. Jade waited a half an hour to be safe, knowing that they had fallen into a deep sleep. She carefully tried to get out of the hammock without making any noise at all. The hammock swung to one side dangerously, threatening to send her flying down. Her heart caught in her throat and she almost gasped from the sudden movement. She slowly took her time and set herself down on the ground.

"Finally." She breathed. Jade detached herself from the hammock and started to make her way out. As she walked, she found that she couldn't see at all through the forest without her wand. She patted her sides for the wand but stopped dead in her tracks when she realized that she didn't have it with her.

"Thought you'd try to escape." A voice said behind her. Jade whipped around and saw Nicolas standing there with her wand in his hand.

"What is this?" Nicolas asked observing the wand delicately.

"Give it back Nicolas." Jade demanded. Nicolas tipped the wand horizontally and held it on both sides. "Nicolas don't touch my-"

"Wand?" Nicolas asked. "You want this back?" Nicolas asked waving her wand around. Jade nodded eagerly and Nicolas grinned. "Take off your clothes and lie down then." Nicolas told her.

"What?!" Jade shrieked. She felt two hands grab her arms and hold her firmly from the back.

"Oh I can't wait to have you little lady. I've been waiting ever since I've lain my eyes on you." he said reaching down to firmly squeeze her breast. Jade screamed as loud as she could and turned around to punch Jack in the nose. He staggered back and held his nose which started to gush with blood.

"Hold her down." Nicolas said. Jack grabbed Jade before she had a chance to run and threw her on the ground. He held her down tightly as she screamed and kicked to no avail. Nicolas squatted down next to Jade and held the wand out in front of her.

"We have to make sure she does not try to kill us in our sleep. It would be a tad bit unfair." Nicolas said waving her wand around mockingly. He took the wand with both hands and in one swift pull, he cracked it in half. Jade screamed, feeling beyond the feeling of fury inside of her.

"You broke my _wand_ you bastard!" Jade shrilled.

"Shut your mouth!" Nicolas barked.

He pinned her legs down with his, making her unable to move at all. Jade screamed hearing Jack laugh and Nicolas start to prepare himself. They all suddenly heard a large roar that nearly scared the life out of Jade. It was a sinister roar and Jade saw Nicolas flying off of her as the Black Panther charged into him. Jack let go of her arms that were sore and probably bright red. She rubbed it gently to see the Panther crush Nicolas's head with his powerful jaw. Jack started to run away and Jade saw her broken wand on the floor. She picked it up and turned away from the gory scene that the Panther had made with Nicolas's body.

"Take the horse and run! I'll get to the other fat one." The Panther said trotting away. Jade nodded and went to the horse and fed it some oats that Jack had in the cart.

"Come on." Jade coaxed. She untied the horse from the cart and knew that it felt relieved from being free from such a heavy cart. "Good boy. We have to get back to the town quickly. You know where it is don't you?" Jade asked stroking the horses' mane. The horse neighed softly and Jade pulled herself up on the horse, trying to have a firm control of it. She had very little experience to ride a horse but she always had seen movies. She was fine if she didn't fall off. Jade lightly kicked the horse's side to make it start moving back to the town again.

"Faster, my life depends on it." Jade said kicking it on the side again. The horse understood and started on a run, faster than it had ever been on the cart. Jade had to hold on tightly to the horse as she bounced up and down on the horse unwillingly. She needed to hang on to her life as the horse bolted through the forest. Jade saw the town approaching and the trees started thinning. Relief along with another shot of adrenaline spread throughout her body. The horse started slowing down as they approached the town which was roughly about a mile away. As soon as they were close to the bridge, Jade stopped the horse and got off of it. She patted the horse and gave it something to eat.

"Go back to the forest. Thank you for the help." Jade said kissing the side of its nose. She let the horse go and saw it trot away from her, neighing gently. Jade turned around to the bridge of the town and started making her way back to the town to look for Malfoy again.


	15. Hot Suns

Jade walked through the town feeling incredibly tried from walking around all night. She walked around throughout the entire night, trying to look for Malfoy but couldn't find him anywhere. She didn't expect to find him at this time of night. Jade entered the tavern that she had walked in with Nicolas and Malfoy the day before and saw that men and women were packed, singing loudly and drinking heavily. Betsy stood there, jutting out a side of her hip, placing a hand on it as she was speaking to a pack of people nearby. Jade walked through everyone and tried not to get hit by people who were dancing.

"Betsy! Betsy!" Jade called.

Betsy, who was wearing a bright red tight fitted bodice. She turned around to see Jade calling for her attention.

"I thought you had left." Betsy said wiping her hands with a handkerchief. Jade finally made it through the crowd and stood in front of Betsy. The entire cavern was stuffy and smelled of wood, sweat, spit and drinks.

"I did and I came back. Betsy, have you seen Draco around? The boy I was with earlier? Blonde hair, gray eyes, tall?" Jade asked seeing Betsy nod.

"He's still somewhere in town. I've seen him walking around." She said looking Jade up and down. Jade looked like a mess. Her hair was wild and her clothes were extremely dirty.

"Where is he specifically?" Jade asked feeling a small ray of hope in her. Betsy looked cold and Jade felt sick of trying so hard. "He's my brother! I need to know where my brother is!" Jade said seeing Betsy look surprised.

"You don't look alike at all-"

"I look more like our mother. Betsy please! I need to know where he is." Jade said. Betsy warmly received Jade and started to fuss about her appearance.

"You won't be able to find him at this time of night! You poor girl you look starved!" Betsy said dragging Jade to a seat near the booth. Betsy handed Jade a plate of hot pottage, cold beef and some ale. Jade didn't think about how bad the food was going to be, it was food. She was so hungry; she could eat anything and was thankful for Betsy and herself to lie about what she was to Malfoy.

"What happened to Nicolas? Why did you leave him?" Betsy asked as Jade looked up.

"I didn't want to be away from my brother." Jade half lied. If she told Betsy the truth, no one in the world except for Wizarding folk would find her sane.

"You can sleep here if you have nowhere else to go. You can search for your brother in the morning." Betsy said. Jade nearly dropped the bowl she was holding to her face.

"Oh my goodness Betsy! Thank you so much! You don't know how grateful I am to you." Jade said seeing Betsy shake her head and smile.

"When you do find your brother…would you try to speak to him for me?" Betsy asked blushing pink. Jade stared at Betsy like a deer caught in headlights.

"Er…talk to you about…" Jade said seeing Betsy nod.

Jade wanted to gag in front of Betsy but she thought it would be rude. First of all, for anyone to be the least attracted to Malfoy made her want to vomit. Second, for Malfoy and Betsy to be together, that was something she _had_ to see.

"Yeah, sure…why not?" Jade asked.

Betsy smiled broadly and hugged Jade who held her breath from breathing in the sweaty and dirty perspiration from Betsy's underarms. Betsy released Jade and told her where the room was upstairs in the tavern. Jade thanked Betsy once more and walked away from the party that seemed to last the rest of the night.

* * *

Annabelle had taken the horse with a couple of other the Castile's servants to one of the towns to bring back spices, clothing and fresh meat for the castle. She hated to be on these long journeys that took days to travel to the town and days to come back, carrying heavy sacks of things for the castle. It left her arms, legs and back completely sore and heavy for days. They were going to take a day to reach the next town of Castile.

* * *

Jade woke up in the morning and met with Betsy who gave Jade a bar of clumpy soap. Jade left the tavern and walked down the streets, seeing everyone start to prepare for their day. Children were seen running around and screaming at each other. All the while, Jade kept her eyes open for Malfoy. Jade approached the lake nearby and started to take off her clothes. She saw a few women nearby with their children bathing stark naked but Jade didn't have the courage to do that.

"I can't wait until I go back to Hogwarts. The first thing I'm going to do before anything is take a bloody shower and brush my bloody teeth." Jade hissed. She cleansed herself from the dirt from the bar of soap that didn't smell like anything at all. Jade then dried herself off and wore the clothes that Betsy had given her so she could wait for her original clothes to get washed and dried. Jade finished placing her washed clothes on the rock so it could dry and she patted her hands and sat next to it, looking around the lake.

A glint of white caught her eye and she shaded her eyes from the hot sun to see the person who she had been searching for, for the longest time. Jade jumped off the rock and saw him unbutton his shirt and throw it on a rock nearby. A couple of girls nearby stopped and stared, hiding behind trees and giggling at the new stranger that had came to visit their town. He tested the waster and slowly walked in, the water up to his waist. Jade cupped her hands to the sides of her mouth and shouted as hard as she could.

"_MALFOY_!"

She saw him look up, startled and squinted to see her. Jade ran as fast as she could not being able to feel this happy in a long while.

"Harper? What are you doing back here?" he asked as Jade crashed herself against him, hugging him tightly. As soon as she had her arms around him, she felt an overwhelming sense of comfort around her. She honestly knew that she felt safe again and the balance had been once again stable.

"Oh my God, I've never been this happy to see someone in all my life!" Jade sighed.

Draco felt confused at what just had happened. One minute, he was coming from sleeping from the streets to take a bath and the next minute he saw Harper running and slamming into him. He felt her warm and soft body pressed against his chest and felt himself place his hands on her waist awkwardly. She loosened her hug and slowly retracted looking at him.

"I have so much to tell you." Jade whispered, looking around to see if anyone was watching.


	16. The Tavern

Jade sat on a rock, retelling last night's experience to Malfoy who didn't seem too shocked about what Nicolas, Jack and the Queen of Castile were planning for them. But he did have a hard time believing that a Black Panther assisted Jade to escape without killing her.

"That's pretty hard to believe. A cat? The same Panther that we saw in the jungle, helping you in the forest?" he asked seeing Jade nod.

"I wouldn't be here telling you any of this if it weren't for the Panther. But we really shouldn't waste our time hanging around here. We have to go as soon as we-"

"We don't have money. How are we going to make it two days without food or water on foot?" he asked.

"I don't know how we're going to make money around here. Oh but I know Betsy who could probably help us." Jade said seeing Draco curl his lip in disgust.

"That fat woman? Did you see how she looks at me? Like I'm something to eat for her." He said looking off into the lake. He didn't hear Jade answer so he looked at her, seeing her blush and bite her lip.

"What?" he asked seeing her lower her eyes.

"Actually…well. She likes you, you know." Jade said looking at Draco who looked at her questioningly.

"Yes…I know that, but I'm guessing that's not the point you wanted to make." He said seeing her nervously fidget with her dry clothes.

"Well last night I came back from the forest to look for you and I wondered if Betsy would know where you were. I went to the tavern and asked her but she was really…how should I say it…unfriendly towards me." Jade said seeing him smirk.

"Sorry to hear that you're not popular with the ladies." He said seeing her smile a bit.

"I'm not at all to tell you the truth. Not when I'm seen with you. I had to tell her that you were my brother and you should have seen the way she changed." Jade said snapping her fingers. Draco chuckled hearing that and saw her look embarrassed again. "And well…she was really nice to me but it kind of came at a price." Jade said looking at him.

"What price?" he asked cautiously.

"I told her I'd try to talk to you for her." Jade said quickly.

Draco reacted badly as she had expected. He looked at her as if she was asking him something ridiculous which wasn't really as bad as she thought would be. He'd only have to flirt around with Betsy and probably endure kissing her once or twice. It wasn't that bad, if he held his breath long enough.

"Are you out of your bloody flipping mind? I am not going to sleep with that giant!" Draco yelled going to leave but Jade grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

"Malfoy you _have_ to think about this! Betsy's been really hospitable to me and-"

"Then _you_ sleep with her! Don't you dare try to sell me to that tub of fat!" he stalked angrily. "I didn't ask you to sleep with her Malfoy! Just court her for today, until we find a way to get some money and run! We'll get free food if you do this!" Jade said following him back to the town. He turned around to her and pointed a finger at her.

"I can't believe you'd do something like this. That ugly pig? Did you see the hairy mole on her chin? I'm not touching her, let alone _look_ at her." He said going to leave.

"Malfoy please!" Jade begged holding on to his arm.

"No!" he shouted, shaking her arm from her grip. They walked down the street and smelled the fresh baked bread from the baker's hut.

"I haven't eaten anything since you left yesterday." He said placing a hand on his stomach.

"You must be an idiot not to flirt around for some food. Betsy would probably give up her bloody tavern for you and here you are looking like you're about to die." Jade said dragging him back to the tavern.

"I'll starve but I won't kiss that fat bitch!" Draco said loudly.

"Stop being a rude jerk." Jade snapped. She walked into the tavern that had been filled with men again who were drinking. Betsy had seen Jade and Draco walk in and she nearly turned the entire tavern upside down.

"It's you two!" she said knocking everyone in her path. She stopped in front of them and Jade pushed Draco to the front.

"I've found my brother." Jade said sweetly, patting Draco's back. Betsy smiled coyly and fluttered her eyelashes at him. Draco grimaced and took a step back but Jade firmly held him to his place. She knocked his shoulder with hers to say something to Betsy.

"Your brooch is really pretty. It magnifies _so_ many things about you." Draco said as Jade mentally rolled her eyes. He wasn't complimenting Betsy, he was secretly insulting her. Betsy looked down at her brooch and giggled madly.

"This old thing?" she asked touching the brooch that was in the center of her bust. "I agree, it's very attractive." She said pushing it up, making her bust look bigger. Draco chuckled nervously and nodded.

"Oh you have _no_ idea." He said.

Betsy nearly died of thinking she had just been complimented by Draco. Draco turned his head slightly at Jade and gave her a bewildered expression and Jade flashed her eyes to get him to behave and not offend Betsy at all.

"Come! You both must be hungry." Betsy said taking Draco's hand and dragging him off. Jade followed feeling as if she was going to die in laughter. She had never had this much joy in another person's pain in her life. Seeing Draco suffer from Betsy was something she wished Hogwarts would see. Jade sat down next to Draco as Betsy left to get them food. Draco turned around, sneering at Jade.

"You're finding this really funny aren't you?" he asked seeing her nod and grin.

"Oh come on Malfoy, she's totally your type. She's actually makes up for both Crabbe and Goyle combined." Jade said.

"Well then we're just going to have you find you something that makes up for Potter…" he said looking for something. He found an empty cup in front of him and spit in it.

"Here you go." He said pleasantly, wiping his mouth.

Jade felt highly insulted about what he had just done. They both exchanged glares and Betsy came back with their food. Jade turned away from Draco and concentrated on her food though not having very much of an appetite anymore. She ignored whatever conversation Betsy and Draco were having and wished that she'd throw a bone right into Draco's thick head.

"Hello there Ralph." Betsy greeted someone behind Draco and Jade.

"Hello Betsy. Hello there Miss." Ralph, a thin, bald and deceptive looking man said looking at Jade who tried not to make a face of disgust. Jade merely went back to her food and heard Ralph talk to Betsy.

"The usual wine for you Ralph?" Betsy asked seeing Ralph nod and take off his gloves.

"Of course, why I don't know what else I'd do in my life if you never had your tavern." Ralph said taking a seat next to Jade who shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"What you need is a wife." Betsy said placing the cup of wine in front of Ralph who flashed his yellow teeth at her.

"Indeed I do. I've been managing my horses all my life yet there's no one to manage me." Ralph said looking at Jade who ignored him completely.

Draco's ears perked up when he heard of horses. Maybe Ralph could help in giving him a horse. He saw the way Ralph was looking at Jade who had started to finish up her food and he started planning another vendetta against her.

"Forgive me my dear, but I haven't seen you from around here." Ralph said twirling his curly moustache. Jade glanced at him and looked away at the wall in front of her.

"I'm not from around here." Jade said showing that she was clearly not interested in speaking to him.

"Where are you from then?" he pressed.

"Ralph breeds horses and sells them to rich merchants and the Queen's soldiers for war. His business is prosperous." Betsy boasted. Jade only hummed monotonously and drank from her cup, still not interested in Ralph, no matter how many horses he bred. Draco coughed and cleared his throat to speak.

"So you sell horses? For how much?" Draco asked. Jade turned around to him and spoke through her eyes. 

_'What's wrong with you? Stop talking to him!'_

Draco ignored the look on her face and continued to speak to Ralph.

"I'll give you a strong horse for a pound." Ralph said seeing Draco's eyebrows shoot up.

"One pound?" he asked looking at Jade as if he had just gotten the best deal of his life.

"We're in the 1300's dear brother of mine." Jade said seeing him quickly realize that she was right.

"How are you all going to get all that money?" Betsy asked them Draco and Jade who looked defeated.

"I'd give you the horse for free because I'm a good man, but still…I _am_ a man of business and I haven't met women as beautiful as you." Ralph purred to Jade who looked aghast. "Think about it." Ralph said getting up and placing a coin on the table for Betsy. He got up and left and Jade sat there and turned around to see Betsy standing there, smiling.

"You're lucky he likes you. He's one of the richest men in this town. If I were you, I'd do anything in my power to be with him. That man will shower gold on you." Betsy said walking away.

"Well I'm not you, you fat cow." Jade said under her breath. She turned to look at Malfoy who was sweeping his eyes over her body.

"What are you looking at ferret?" Jade asked seeing Malfoy exaggerate a frown and shake his head.

"You know Harper. You're not the least bit attractive at all by my standards." He said seeing her roll her eyes.

"I'm so grateful for that, you don't even know." Jade said. She picked up the cup of ale and went to sip for it.

"You'd be worth about a pound…or a horse." He suggested. Jade stared at him, wondering if he was serious.

"Malfoy how bloody dare you put a price on me?" Jade asked in astonishment seeing him lean over.

"And how dare you sell me over to that fat blob of waste for some food? It's all fair that you sell yourself to that horse merchant or other men for some money." He said.

Jade was so angry, she picked up her hand and slapped him as hard as she could across his face. His head snapped towards the side and he brought his hand to his stinging cheek that warmed instantly. He turned around snarling at her, not caring that she had tears in her eyes.

"I was nearly raped in that forest by two men." Jade choked. She wiped her eyes quickly and looked away from him. Draco felt that whatever she did to him wasn't fair and that she should have deserved something similar but started to feel wrong about it. He placed a few fingers on his cheek to soothe it.

Jade watched the tavern filled up and guessed that everyone was done with their world for the day and went to relieve themselves in the tavern. She moved over for the men who sat down and started drinking.

"They're like live storage for beer." Draco muttered drinking what Betsy had given him to get drunk. Jade rolled her eyes and saw a couple of men get into a fight at the corner of the pub. Everyone roared in laughter as drinks were thrown around and whores came in to pick up customers.

"Hello handsome." A curvaceous woman said, not as fat as Betsy was. Her face was powdered and her lips were painted red with a peacock feather sticking from her hair. Draco looked utterly revolted at the sight of her and before he told her to screw off, Betsy came and scared them off.

"Don't you _dare_ bother him! Hands OFF wench!" Betsy shrilled snapping her handkerchief. The whore curled her lip at Betsy and left calling her a fat donkey.

"Did she try to touch you at all? I'll rip her hair out, I swear I will." Betsy said to Draco who leaned away from her and shook his head. Betsy gave him a wide smile and touched his cheek with her finger. She left to give some more beer and ale and Jade looked at Draco who rubbed the part where Betsy touched his face.

"Are you gay Malfoy?" Jade asked seeing him whip his head around and narrow his eyes.

"What the hell makes you think I'm gay?" he asked menacingly. Jade shrugged at him and pretended to be in deep thought.

"You've never really dated anyone since Pansy and that was three years ago and now that we're here, you don't show interest in any woman that comes by and offers herself to you." Jade said seeing him seethe in rage.

"Well obviously you don't know what type of girls I want. None of these women are what I want." He said seeing Jade smirk and sip her drink.

"But Pansy was the one you wanted right? She was your type?" Jade asked hearing him snort.

"She wasn't exactly my type either." He said looking at his cup.

"So what is your type? The superficial ones with nothing in their heads except for hair?" Jade asked.

He didn't answer her. Instead he got up and cleared his throat.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Draco shouted, getting everyone's attention.

Jade looked around to see that everyone was looking at him and she pulled at his arm, trying to get him to sit back down.

"What are you doing Malfoy?" Jade hissed.

"Jade Harper has agreed to put on a show for us!" Draco announced getting the entire crowd to get on their feet and roar with delight. Draco raised his hands up to quiet them again. "But, she needs your help to encourage her to start dancing for us!" Draco said, being grabbed by Jade.

"You're out of your bloody mind! Why are you doing this to me?!" Jade asked shaking him.

Betsy started to hit the bar in a beat and started to chant Jade's name.

"Jade, Jade, Jade, Jade!" everyone chanted, growing stronger. The whores in the back, rolling their eyes at the entire tavern filled with sex driven men.

"I had to get back at you for flirting with the fat cow. Go on." He said pushing her to the center of the pub. Jade felt incredibly nervous and looked at Draco who smirked and fell back on his chair knowing that she was never going to follow through with the plan. She gritted her teeth in annoyance knowing that she was going to heavily disappoint him tonight. She turned back to the crowd and saw them eagerly watching her with their drinks in their hands.

"Well go on!" one man shouted.

"She needs some music! She's going to dance. Boys!" another shouted. The three men that sat with each other, holding their instruments started to play to a fast paced song. Everyone started to tap their feet with the beat and Jade mustered up all the courage in herself to start to prove Malfoy wrong. She closed her eyes and moved her shoulders slowly, trying to get comfortable to the music. Her arms moved and then her hands. Her torso soon followed and her hips started to sway, listening to everyone who muttered and gasped. She moved her arms above her head and threw her head back, twirling slightly to the music. She opened her eyes to everyone who stared at her questioningly. She bit her lip, whirled around towards the bar and ran to it, jumping on it. She danced as everyone howled in joy, getting up and shouting loving to see a young girl dance so exotically.

Draco stared with his mouth slightly open and his eyes went wide with shock. He expected Harper to crumble in shame in front of all those men but here she was, dancing as if she was really enjoying it. He got up from his seat as Jade bent down and pulled him up from the collar and stared directly into his eyes. She gave him a smirk and gracefully threw herself on the bar and threw her feet up, exposing her long lean and white legs. Draco was pushed as the men went to touch her but Betsy moved them back.

"If anyone touches me, the dance is over." Jade warned them. Everyone started to move back, letting Jade get back up and dance slowly across the bar. Draco suddenly felt the most bizarre response from his body while he was watching Jade dance. He swallowed weakly, feeling that his throat was exceptionally dry. His heart started beating faster, watching her run her hands through her own hair and mischievously look at her audience that looked just like him. She looked so good at this point; Draco didn't care about anything else. He felt his breathing stop as she came by him and hooked her arm around his neck and brought his ear close to her lips.

"Start collecting money." She said before letting him go and getting back on to the bar again.

Draco didn't want to collect money, he wanted to stare at her and he was _not_ ashamed of it. He had to gather himself up. He couldn't be attracted to Harper even though he really was and didn't deny it. He needed to use this advantage to milk the entire audience. He took a wooden bowl from Betsy and banged his hand against the table to gain the audience's attention.

"Let's encourage the beautiful young lady to dance some more eh? Put in your money if you want to see more!" Draco shouted seeing the men roar and fish out money from their pockets. Draco walked around the entire tavern and collected money from eager and excited men that wanted more of Jade. Hell if Draco had any money on him, he'd happily put in money as well to see more of that. He turned to see Jade bit her lip, enjoying what she was definitely doing. Again his body burst into flames and an aching throb began in his pants. She should _never_ know that he was attracted to her; it would embarrass him for the rest of his life.

Jade bent down and took a drink from a man, and gulped the horrible and nasty beverage to quench her thirst. She put the cup down and wiped her mouth, seeing the man gaping at her. She lifted her foot and pushed gently at his shoulder and moved herself around to stand on her feet. The man who was touched by Jade had been clapped by other men who congratulated him for such luck. Jade felt her body loosening more than it had ever been and she saw out of all the irony, a wooden pole nearby. Her eye caught Draco's who stared at her, his expression as the same as most of the men around him. She smirked. Maybe he wasn't as queer as she thought. Jade made a run for the pole and jumped off the bar. Everyone gasped and watched Jade catch the pole and swivel down roughly. When Jade carefully made it on her feet she turned to everyone who took off their hats, stomped their feet, clapped and roared with enjoyment.

"Give the dear one more drink to have another go at it." A man said. Jade took a drink from Betsy and chugged it down, starting to feel hilarious.

Draco saw that she was drinking heavily and knew there were going to be more rambunctious with her dancing.

"Hey!" He shouted. Everyone turned to him in irritation and he raised his bowl. "Pour in money if you want to see the pretty little thing take her dress off!" Draco yelled. His hearing nearly deafened when he received the outrageous 'hurrahs' and cries of the dirty men that carried money around in their pockets. He walked around and the bowl had gotten heavy and full. They were so bloody rich; they could possibly own Castile entirely! He turned to see Jade coyly loosening the strings on her loose bodice. She unfastened it slowly and threw it to the side and laughed hysterically at the men who scrambled for it.

Betsy swatted them off and took the bodice from them, telling them that it was hers. Jade stumbled a bit and excused herself as she took another cup to drink. Draco thought that was enough. She was heavily drunk and not in her right state of mind. Before things got out of hand, he needed to take her away. Jade then dropped the cup and turned to the entire tavern.

"You want me to take this off?!" Jade yelled lazily, pulling her tunic.

"_AYE!_" the men yelled. Jade smirked and pointed to Draco who stood in front of her, trying to get her down.

"Then _pay_ him!" Jade ordered, almost falling off the bar.

The money poured in heavily and Draco started to place all the money in a bag. Still, more money than ever had been given and Draco knew that everyone was left penniless. He was busying himself transferring his money into the bag and heard hooting and howling and the men roared, dancing and pointing at Jade like a pack of hungry animals. Draco looked up and almost dropped his money. Jade stood there, dancing like a drunk stripper in her muggle underwear.

"That is _beautiful_! What is she _wearing_?" someone asked.

"It's so _sinful_!" someone yelled, laughing in delight. Draco grabbed his bag and tossed the bowl to Betsy.

"Come here." Draco said wrapping his arm around Jade's legs.

"Aw no Malfoy! You're ruining the show! I want to get naked!" Jade squeaked in his ear.

"If you get naked, you'll get raped by all these men who've been wanting a piece of you ever since we've got here." Draco told her, hearing her chuckle. She kissed his ear, sending electrical pulses through his entire body.

"I want you to take a piece." she droned. 

_'Your wish is my command.'_ Draco thought. He shook the thought from his head and tucked the bag under his belt. He wrapped his hands around her waist that was warm from drinking and flushing. He picked her up and swung her over his shoulder and went over to Betsy who led him by the back door as the men complained in anger. Draco thanked Betsy and left with Jade on his shoulder, hearing her muttering things that he couldn't understand. He set her down, seeing her wobble and look at him curiously. He shrugged his robe off and wrapped it around her so other people wouldn't be able to be curious about why Draco was carrying a nearly naked woman on his shoulder with odd underwear on.

"Behave Harper." Draco said seeing her click her teeth and wrap her arms around his neck.

"Call me Jade." Jade slurred bringing herself closer to him. Draco wanted to die. She was half naked, forcing herself on him while he was trying to be 'good' to protect her.

"Say my name." Jade cooed, smiling slightly.

"Stop it." Draco sighed roughly. He went to bend down to pick her up again but she started sobbing.

"You don't want to say my name! You don't find me pretty!" Jade shrieked.

Draco's eyes flashed with fear. What the hell had he gotten himself into? He tried to console her but she was a wreck. She cried and pushed him away, walking off, nearly tripping on her feet. He took her arm and turned her around, seeing her look at him with watery eyes.

"Let's go." He said trying to take her away but she kept pushing him off, sobbing uncontrollably.

"You hate me! You…You wanted to k-kill me!" Jade stuttered, covering her face.

"Oh Salazar Slytherin…I don't hate you Harper!" Draco almost yelled.

"Y-you called me Harper again!" Jade said going to make a run for it but Draco grabbed her and yanked her towards him. He grabbed the back of her head and pulled her into a kiss. Jade responded back immediately by driving her hands through his hair and pushing herself against him. She moaned loudly in his mouth as Draco was faced with a painful dilemma.

"Just take me right here." Jade said breaking off from him. She went to remove her robe but Draco stopped her.

"Not in the streets, we have to go somewhere _private_." Draco said hearing the men start to leave the tavern. He grabbed her hand and pulled her away. They walked for a while and Draco stopped right in front of the small house of a land owner who seemed to have a generous heart and allowed Draco to spend the night in the day he had left Jade Nicolas and Jack. Draco wrapped an arm tightly around Jade's waist and asked her to stand still. She stood up straight and placed a finger over her lips. He knocked on the door and the in a few seconds, the door opened to reveal the young 20 year old who seemed delighted to see Draco again.

"Hello Draco! It's so nice to see you back! Is this your wife?" he asked looked at Jade who kept ogling at Draco.

"Erm…yes she is. But she's had a little too much to drink, you know." Draco said seeing Joseph nod sympathetically. "But I was wondering if we could spend the night in your shed? I'll pay you in the morning." Draco said seeing Joseph nod vigorously.

"You do not have to pay me! Of course I will give you the shed! I will tell my wife to bring you and your wife some food and-"

"No, we're fine thanks." Draco said quickly. He needed to get to the damn shed before he was going to explode. Jade trailed a finger down his neck and giggled, seeing him try to look controlled.

"Oh all right. Good night then!" Joseph said as Draco took Jade away to the shed.

They walked in and he let her go, closing the door of the shed behind him. The entire shed was dark but he could see her faintly from the moonlight that peeked through the cracks of the roof. Jade shrugged her robe off and wrapped her arms around Draco who snaked his arms around her waist. She kissed him and melted against him as he touched her softly, feeling his hands burn from her hot skin. They hurriedly moved towards the pile of straw and fell softly on it, their lips glued to each other. Draco felt his entire body flush with hers as she pulled the shirt off of him and trailed her small hands around his smooth and lean chest.

"Wow." She breathed. Draco chuckled tasting the awful aftertaste of beer in her mouth. "Draco." She said huskily.

"Give me a second." Draco said unbuckling his pants. Jade wrapped her legs around his waist, blocking him from removing his pants.

"Draco make love to me." She said removing her bra. He nearly went to the edge of insanity. "Come _on_!" Jade said aggressively shifting her hips against his.

He gulped and touched her waist, seeing her bite her lip and roll back her eyes. He reached out to one of her breasts and cupped it in her hand, slowly making circles to see her shudder in pleasure. She groaned and leaned in to kiss him again. She rolled her hips against his rhythmically as if she were giving him a private dance. He unzipped his pants and pulled them off.

"Draco do you like me?" Jade asked sliding her hands down to his pants.

"What?" Draco asked not too conscious of her question. He was concentrating on one thing and one thing only.

"Do you like me?" Jade asked taking him in her hands. She squeezed firmly, and grinned when he hissed.

"I think I love you." Draco nearly shouted.

Jade's grip turned weak and she released him. He looked up at her, seeing her eyes roll back and her falling right next to him, out cold. There he was, stark naked and ready for her…extremely ready for her. He rolled over to her and called out her name, gently patted her face but she was knocked out, snoring loudly. Draco wanted to get up and kill someone. How could she lead him through all of this and completely black out? If he had gotten her a little earlier, he would have been at peace with himself but it seemed like he was going to have perform solo tonight.


	17. All The Queen's Men

Jade woke up in the morning and felt a dull ache in her head. It wasn't as bad as other hangovers she had had before. Usually it would have been worse. She moaned lightly and looked around to see Draco sitting across from her with a bucket next to him.

"Hey…hey Malfoy." Jade patted, seeing him lift his head and look at her. His eyes widened a bit and he pushed the bucket towards her.

"Do you need to vomit again?" he asked seeing her make a face and shake her head. "Good…Merlin for someone like you, you sure store a lot of crap inside of you." he said. Jade shook her head slightly at him and placed a hand on her head.

"Merlin…what happened last night?" she asked touching her head lightly. She looked down to see that she was covered with a robe and she lifted it to see that she was only in her underwear. She gasped sharply and snapped towards Draco who stared curiously at her.

"You honestly don't remember?" he asked, in shock. Jade gaped at him, feeling the horror seep through her entire body. She saw his pale face start to tinge pink and she knew it was something utterly embarrassing.

"You don't remember _anything _from last night?" he asked unbelievably. Jade shifted on the pile of straws and recounted the incidents from last night.

"All I remember was dancing, drinking and watching you collect money. That's all." Jade said seeing him scratch his neck in frustration. He left the bucket and got up. "What? What did I do? I don't remember coming here." Jade said seeing Draco rub his face. She was so confused she didn't know what to think. She was in her underwear and Draco was up all night, making sure she threw up in the bucket; that was all she knew.

"What's wrong? Will you say something?" Jade asked, her voice rising in panic. "What happened last night?" Jade demanded.

Draco couldn't believe that she had no recollection of what happened between them last night. Technically nothing happened but whatever he felt that night, he knew that she felt it too. She was so real last night and truly wanted him. It was as if she was an entirely different person, a person that he was genuinely attracted to. Seeing her demand questions and start to panic, Draco had to calm her down before she really went berserk.

"You just danced for them and had a lot to drink." He explained, seeing her wait for the rest.

"That's it?" Jade asked shaking her head suspiciously.

"That's it." Draco said hoping she wouldn't dig him out.

"You're hiding something from me Malfoy." Jade said getting up.

Draco wanted to scream at her in frustration. Why couldn't she just drop the bloody subject?

"In full _detail_, tell me what I did. Why are you blushing damn it?! Did I get naked?" Jade asked seeing him shake his head.

"No, no." he went to say but Jade gasped.

"Oh Godric Gryffindor! Did I shag anyone?" Jade asked seeing Draco freeze and stare at her awkwardly. Jade shook his arms and nearly cried. "Why won't you answer me? Who was it? Ough I bet it was some hairy fat-"

"Screw off woman." Draco said angrily.

Jade shot her head up at him and Draco caught himself before he went to defend himself.

"You didn't shag anyone." Draco said a little bit calmer than before. 

_'You would have but you blacked out…unreliable drinker.'_

"All you did was dance in the tavern; you took a little too much to drink and had more fun with a pole than I had ever seen any girl do in my _entire_ life as a man. Anyways," Draco said quickly before she doubted him. "You took off your clothes-you were in your underwear, before you interrupt me again." Draco said before Jade went to open her mouth to speak. "But I took you away before you stripped entirely. It was a good fight to put up with, asking a woman not to take off her clothes who was adamant about it." Draco said seeing Jade sigh in relief.

"Oh shit and I was _so_ worried. I can't believe I went that far. I only wanted to make some money." Jade said seeing Draco take out a large and heavy looking bag.

"We're probably richer than that horse merchant. All thanks to you." Draco said handing her the bag. Jade held the heavy bag and looked up at Draco and smiled.

"I wouldn't have done it without you. Thank you for taking me away before I really would have gotten hurt." Jade said seeing him shrug and wave it off as if it weren't a big deal.

"Well we have to get out of here and get something to eat. Possibly buy you some clothes. Now that we have the money, we can buy horses to take us to Castile and get the hell out of here." He said, not being able to look at her at all. If he tried to look at her, he'd feel the same raging feelings he had at the tavern and when the moments before she went unconscious. So he had to be as careful as possible to avoid speaking to her, touching her or even looking at her. Anything that reminded him of last night, Draco had to forget about to be normal again. He couldn't feel this way for Harper, certainly not a mudblood.

There was a knock on the door of the shed and Draco sprinted towards the door to open it.

"Hullo." Joseph's sweet wife said walking in with food.

"Joanne." Draco said as Joanne walked in and smiled brightly at Jade who smiled back.

"You must be Draco's wife. So lovely!" Joanne said setting down the food on a small stool nearby. Jade quickly frowned and looked at Draco who motioned that he'd explain later. Her mouth formed into a straight tight line as she glared at him fiercely. "How long have you both been married?" Joanne asked Jade who came up with a number.

"One…year?" Jade asked seeing Joanne nod and smile.

"That's lovely. I've also been married to my Joseph for a year now and look." Joanne said smoothing her belly which indicated that she was pregnant.

"Oh congratulations! Your first child?" Jade asked seeing Joanne nod and glow from happiness.

"First ever. We're so happy. Oh let me stop talking. Here's your breakfast. If you need anything at all, just tell me." Joanne said seeing Draco and Jade nod.

"Thank you Joanne. For everything. We'll be out in an hour." Draco said seeing Joanne click her teeth.

"Stay as long as you'd like. Joseph's going to be home today, he has a small fever." Joanne said seeing them nod. "Bless the both of you." Joanne said leaving.

When the door was shut, Jade watched Draco who went to the food and started to eat.

"We're married?" Jade asked.

"It was either that or the mudblood I tried to send here with a Portkey that's being held by a Queen who wants to kill us. I wanted to save my breath." Draco said handing Jade a plate of breakfast without looking at her. Jade looked at his odd behavior. He wasn't even trying to look her in the eye this entire morning. She took the plate from him and the two sat in silence, eating their boiled eggs and bread.

* * *

Annabelle finally arrived in the morning of one of the towns in Castile.

"Go on and come back once you've finished marketing." The guard said to Annabelle who stepped out of the carriage with one of the cooks of the castle.

"Come Annabelle." The cook said walking off.

Annabelle turned to see ten of the Queen's soldiers and guards start to plan where they were going to search. It was about the Portkey. The cook had told her everything about why the Queen wanted to execute whoever had transported themselves into Castile.

"The Queen is a powerful ruler that had been once a princess to her father who used to rule Castile. Her father, who was rumored to be a wizard had created this Portkey into another world that served as a doorway to a different time. However, there was one problem. The Portkey would vanish when someone took it to the other side. Young Castile was so fascinated with this Portkey, she demanded it from her father but her father, a smart man knew that Castile, from what he called a _squib_ couldn't trust the Portkey in the hands of his daughter who had ill intentions for it. Young Castile was particularly frustrated that she couldn't hold the same magical capabilities that her father held." The cook told Annabelle when they were in the carriage.

"No one dares to point a finger, but from what you would guess after I told you that Old Queen Castile had mysteriously vanished, it would be no shorter than what anyone else had thought. Castile used to be safe…until Young Castile started to rule. The forests, the jungles are not safe at _all_. Whatever you might think, nothing is safe in Castile. The ordinary people like you and I are called muggles, who have no magic in our blood. Castile is cursed. We are stuck in time and we'll never advance. We are a different world from the rest, we are a city in ourselves and we will stay this way until Young Castile is dead, or until the Portkey is damaged. That is why so many people have tried to escape by taking the Portkey to the other world, but the Portkey comes back with others who would have an ill fate of death. Since the Portkey is back after 99 years, Young Castile will keep it that way. She will kill the newcomers and prevent them from taking back the Portkey. Only two people have known to survive from Castile and have lived to tell the tale." The cook told Annabelle who had her eyebrows raised at the cook.

"And we thought we had gotten rid of it. That is what my mother used to tell me, but apparently we have not. Poor souls." The cook sighed.

_'Poor souls indeed.'_ Annabelle thought.

After Annabelle had walked around with the cook and carried the items, they walked back to the carriage to unload. The cook gave Annabelle a few pennies to look around as she had gone to pick up spices from the stalls nearby. Annabelle felt free to walk around the marketplace, as if she were a normal citizen, not a servant of the castle of Castile. She felt truly saddened for the fates of the two individuals who probably had not an idea of what were to become of them. True the Queen of Castile was a greedy and cold hearted woman that wanted nothing but the Portkey, something that served as death. Suddenly, she felt a sharp collision by her side and she fell on the ground, hearing a few people snicker past her. She blushed furiously, seeing them laugh at her and went to pull herself up but was stopped by a voice.

"Are you all right?"

Annabelle looked at the hand that was outstretched in front of her face and she looked up to see an angel in front of her. She had never seen a man like him. Soft blonde hair that looked like corn silk with a face of the most beautiful angel. Striking pair of grey eyes that looked curiously at her. His nose was straight along with a perfect pink mouth. She placed her hand on his and allowed him to pull her up. She smiled and bowed her head as he nodded, making a face that resembled uncertainty.

"You're not hurt are you?" he asked, his voice so soothing and foreign making her shiver.

"Where is your sister? I thought you'd pay by-"

"Shut up." Spat the beautiful angel. Annabelle was nearly shocked when she heard him snap at a skinny bald man with a thin and curly moustache. His voice had changed so suddenly but the anger in his voice suddenly gave Annabelle the desire to be protected by him.

"I'll be paying. You wanted a pound right? 40 shillings for two horses." He said shaking a small pouch filled with money.

"Where did you get all that money? Especially for a peasant?" the merchant asked, stroking his horse.

"I'm more rich than you'll ever be you filthy little ingrate. I can buy a thousand of you and light you up on fire. Give me two strong horses and take your bloody money." The angel said coldly.

Annabelle looked at the merchant who snarled at her angel. If the merchant did anything to hurt him, Annabelle would definitely jump in the way and knock him down, no matter how many lashings she'd get.

"Take your horses." The merchant said taking the pouch and leaving into his home. Without a word, the angel walked away, took two horses and left. Annabelle turned and started to follow him.

* * *

When they were done with their breakfast, they took their plates and spoons back to Joseph and Joanne's home to give it all back.

"Thank you Joanne. Tell Joseph that I give him my thanks as well." Draco said rummaging through his bag.

"I will. It was a pleasure to have you both over. What's this?" Joanne asked as Draco handed her a pouch of money.

"For the trouble we've given you. Thank you for the hospitality." Draco said seeing Joanne widen her eyes as she counted the money.

"A pound! Twenty shillings! Oh no, no you both need it!" Joanne said thrusting it back to Draco who gently handed her the pouch.

"Please Joanne. We can't walk away without repaying you. Please keep it, consider it a gift for the child to be." Jade consoled seeing Joanne place a hand above her heart.

"You both are so generous and kind. Twenty shillings? For blacksmith's like us? We do not even make much in a year." Joanne said. Jade went forward and hugged Joanne.

"Doesn't matter. It's yours. Thank you Joanne. It's nice to know that there are good people in Castile that are willing to help people in need like us." Jade said. Joanne looked like she was about to cry. They chatted for a few minutes until Draco decided that they should leave to buy the horses.

"But your robe is tattered and torn and dirty. How can you go around with that under the hot sun?" Joanne asked seeing Jade shrug.

"I've got nothing else to wear, but I'll manage." Jade said seeing Joanne shake her head.

"I will not let you out wearing that. Come, I will give you a dress." Joanne said taking Jade's hand.

"But the horses-"

"You are a man, you can buy two horses!" Joanne said. Draco shrugged and watched Joanne take Jade upstairs. "She will be dressed after you come back." Joanne assured.

"All right." Draco said. He saw Joanne disappear and he left to buy the horses from that ruddy merchant that asked for Jade in exchange of a horse. Draco snorted. Fat chance that he'd let that slimy merchant put his hands over Jade now. 

_'Why do I all of a sudden care about what any man would want to do with her? Oh that's right maybe because I've nearly shagged her last night and I'm still feeling strong about her! Oh if there was a sure way to blast this memory away.' _Draco thought fiercely. He hadn't a clue where he was going because he knocked a poor girl down with blonde hair and light freckles sprinkled across her nose.

* * *

Jade nearly died from having the breath literally being sucked right out of her.

"Are you pregnant love?" Joanne asked while pulling the laces of the bodice Jade was wearing.

"No!" Jade breathed; shocked that she was being asked this. Was she really that fat?

"Hmm, you might want to check. You have an average bust, but you look like you're in your early stages of pregnancy." Joanne said seeing Jade blush embarrassingly.

"I'm not. I can't be, I mean I'm not." Jade stuttered. Joanne tied the laces and Jade turned around, feeling as if her breasts were ridiculously exposed and spilled over.

"Ah, you look beautiful!" Joanne said clapping her hands together. Jade smiled gingerly, feeling her ribs being crushed from the pressure.

"I wonder how Draco will react to it. But do not worry Jade, it is very convenient to ride horses with this and especially comfortable under the sun. Let me see your hair." Joanne said braiding Jade's hair. In a few minutes, Joanne finished tightly braiding Jade's hair and marveled at how fine her hair was and how she had got to cut it in layers.

"It could be the fashion of Castile, who knows?" Joanne asked, finished with Jade's hair.

"It's nice." Jade said touching her temples that were throbbing from the tight braids that were on it. They heard Draco ask for them downstairs and Joanne took her arm and pulled her downstairs.

Draco stood at the doorway of Joanne and Joseph's house, waiting for the two women to come down. He heard Joanne's excited whispers and winced at the joy behind it. Joanne thought that Jade was dressing up for _his_ sake but it really wasn't the case. Joanne appeared with Jade shyly behind her.

"Look at how lovely your wife looks." Joanne said stepping to the side and gently pushing Jade towards Draco who gawked at her. Why couldn't the world give him a break after what he had suffered from last night? She was wearing a low cut bodice that pushed her breasts up, reminding him of how happily he had enjoyed them last night. He bit his lip and looked at Jade who looked highly uncomfortable.

"You look nice." Draco said lamely seeing Jade grin, looking up at him.

"Thanks." Jade said. He noticed how her hair was pulled back into two French braids from the side, making her face more pronounced. He had gotten to see more of her neck and everything else that she had been hiding for the duration of their trip.

"Thank you Joanne. Take care." Jade said leaving by giving Joanne a hug.

"You're very welcome! Goodbye Draco!" Joanne said seeing Draco wave a hand towards her. With that, they had walked off with their horses in two, unaware that they were being followed by a girl that was heavily infatuated with Draco and the soldiers of Castile coming out of the tavern with Betsy who pointed straight to them.

"There they are!" Betsy said, unaware that the soldiers of Castile had menacing plans for the Draco and Jade who had been walking with their new horses.

"Oh shit." Draco muttered, stopping his horse. He saw the soldiers advance towards them, drawing out their swords with a snarl on their faces.

"You both! Stop in the name of the Queen of Castile!" one of them hollered.

"Ok, time to run." Draco said grabbing Jade's hand.

"What? What's going on Malfoy?" Jade asked Draco who turned to look into her eyes.

"Are you visually impaired? They're soldiers of the Queen!" Draco yelled. Jade felt her heart get stuck in her throat. They had to run before they were caught and this was the moment to do so.

"Get on your bloody horse!" Jade screamed.

"_STOP!_" The soldiers roared.


	18. Ambushed

**Last update for tonight! I wont be updating tomorrow because of New Year's, so I wanted to say Happy New Year everyone!! May 2010 bring you and your family happiness, health, luck and all of that good stuff!**

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Annabelle stood there watching, standing next to them and seeing the soldiers of the Queen advance towards them. She was absolutely horrified to find out that the man that she loved was the one that the Queen wanted to kill. But what harm did her angel ever cause anyone? A surge of hatred rushed through Annabelle's body as she thought about the Queen. That selfish woman wasn't going to get what she wanted. Annabelle saw a large tomato cart nearby. She ran up to it and pushed it in front of the soldiers who toppled over it, but others had simply jumped over it and kept running towards her angel and the lady who he was with.

"Follow me Harper!" Draco roared kicking his horse swiftly for it to run. His horse bolted and Draco held on tightly.

Jade tried to get her horse to calm down who had started to sense that his owner was suddenly very scared and insecure and was about to be attacked. The soldiers swung at the horse, causing it to kick into the air. Jade was thrown off from the horse and she screamed knowing that this was to be her death. She collided against the ground and immediately rubbed her back and tailbone that had gotten the worst of the impact. Jade groaned in pain but felt someone swiftly pull her up. They broke into a run with her in tow and Jade tried to run, feeling her back and her elbows throb from what could have been a spine breaking fall. Jade turned to hear the angry yells and screams of the soldiers and saw them bumping into people and shoving them out of the way. Her tightened dress wasn't even allowing her to breathe, causing her to feel faint. The person that was running while grabbing her arm, slipped into an alley. Jade watched a blonde haired and pale skinned girl with tattered clothes quickly take off her cloak and wave at Jade.

"What?" Jade asked seeing the girl point to her back. "What…you? I don't understand." Jade said realizing this girl was mute.

The girl placed with palms out for Jade to calm down and slowly gestured to Jade.

"Me, what do you want me to do?" Jade asked seeing the girl hunch forward and pat her back. "You want me to jump on you? Are you mad?" Jade asked seeing the girl shake her head and squeeze her eyes tightly together. The girl then forcibly showed Jade that it was either going to be that or she was going to leave her.

"No, no, no, no! Don't leave. I'll get on you." Jade said.

The girl threw the enormous cloak on for her to wear. Jade quickly put the cloak over herself and the girl swung the cloak's hood over Jade's face so that it was covering her. The girl turned and Jade gently jumped on the girls back and wrapped her legs tightly around the girls waist. She was embarrassed to have the girl carry her around like that. The girl clasped the cloak and handed Jade a small pan that was lying in an alley.

"Ah…a beggar. Clever." Jade said hearing the girl breath a giggle. They left the alley and ventured off as Jade stretched a hand out. They passed a couple of soldiers who were bewildered by where the two fugitives had run off to.

"The boy must be out of the town and into the forest already with his horse. Do you suspect he will be coming back for his partner?" the soldier asked. Jade and the girl listened intently.

"I highly think so. The girl is still in town and he will be back for her. Tell the guards to look around once more. She will still be here and once we've found her, we will wait for the boy to come back for her." The soldier said. Annabelle started walking away, out of the town.

"Where are you Malfoy?" Jade asked.

Annabelle started walking out of the town but Jade kept telling Annabelle that Draco was probably back in town. Annabelle shook her head and walked across the bridge with a flock full of people that came to market in the town. Jade wondered where Annabelle was taking her and even wondered how the girl her age had the strength to carry her this long. They strayed from the crowd and slipped into the forest until they were out of sight. Annabelle lowered herself and Jade jumped off Annabelle and removed the cloak.

"Oh goodness. Are you all right?" Jade asked touching Annabelle's shoulder who nodded and wiped the sweat off of her brow. She suddenly stood rigid and opened her mouth, her face looking terrified.

Jade wrinkled her forehead and turned around to see one of the soldiers standing there, leering at them.

"So it is _you_ who has been sneaking them off. Servant, you will pay for this." The soldier spat. He lunged forward and grabbed Jade who screamed and tried to fight him off.

"Get off of me!" Jade screamed, kicking him as hard as she could. Annabelle took her small pan and started hitting the soldier's head with it that did nothing more but annoy him even further.

"You dirty little wench." The soldier snarled, grabbing Annabelle's throat and pushing her against a tree. Jade scrambled up to her feet, feeling her lungs burn and her head start to spin rapidly from the bodice that started to hurt badly. With all her strength, Jade picked up a rather heavy stone and knocked it against the soldier's head, seeing him whip around, holding his head tightly.

"You bitch!" he shouted.

"Come up with something new!" Jade shouted at him. His eyes grew larger and Jade started to walk away, leading him away from Annabelle who had saved her life.

"You want me don't you? Come over here you load of dung!" Jade swung. The soldier started to make a run for her and Jade started off in a sprint and ran until she could no more. Jade couldn't breathe anymore. She collapsed, feeling her lungs about to explode and felt a sudden pressure on her chest. She opened her eyes and faintly saw the soldier on top of her, grabbing her face.

Annabelle watched Jade divert the soldier's attention to herself and she ran off with him behind her. She fell, looking as if she couldn't breathe and Annabelle knew it was because of the ridiculously tight bodice that was restricting her movement and breathing. Annabelle went forward to help Jade but like a bolt of lightning, the angel appeared, riding his horse at full speed. He held a very large and thick branch and swung with deadly force at the soldiers head, causing him to fall dead on Jade who lied still with her eyes closed.

Draco nearly fell off his horse and ran as hard as he could towards Jade who was unconscious under the soldier. Draco felt pure fear as he thought that the soldier had killed her before he went in to rescue her. He grabbed the collar of the soldier's uniform and heaved him off of Jade, whose mouth started turning blue.

"Harper." Draco asked picking her head up and lightly patting her face. "Harper!" Draco yelled. "Why are you blue?" Draco asked.

He heard someone running towards them and he looked up to see the same blonde haired and brown eyed girl run up to them. She fell on her knees and untied the laces of her bodice. Jade's ridiculously narrow waist had grown back to its original size and Draco immediately pinched Jade's nose and resuscitated to have her breathe normally again.

"Oh…" Jade groaned lightly. She opened her eyes and breathed in deeply, seeing Draco craning over her looking anxious as he had ever been.

"How do you feel?" he asked. Jade nodded, feeling wonderful that she had gotten back the air in her lungs.

"Lucky. I feel lucky." Jade told him. Draco let out a sigh of relief and looked at Jade who blinked at him, breathing evenly. Her gaze then turned to the girl that had untied her laces and she reached out to touch her hand.

"Are you all right?" Jade asked. The girl who was beyond frightened, nodded and clasped Jade's hand with both of her own.

"Who are you?" Draco asked rudely, seeing the girl look up at him with wide brown eyes.

"She helped me escape from the town." Jade said trying to sit up as Draco helped her. "Ough…this thing almost killed me." Jade said rubbing her lower ribcage.

"Why did it take you so long? Where's your horse?" Draco asked seeing Jade look up at him and sneer.

"I fell off of it because of those goons. It threw me off and I would not have been here if she didn't help me run. It's nice to know that you were safe and well here." Jade said seeing Draco roughly let her go and glare at her.

"I tried looking for you but I didn't want to get caught. I even wanted to go back to look for you but it would be kind of stupid to ask around where you were along with the rest of the soldiers who wanted the both of us." Draco said. Jade stood up, feeling incredibly tired.

"You wanted to but you didn't. Anyways, this girl here saved my life, what's your name?" Jade asked.

The girl patted her mouth and shook her head and hand to indicate that she couldn't speak.

"Oh…that's right. I'm sorry." Jade apologized seeing the girl smile at her.

"Well we can't walk around calling you 'the girl'. There must be something we could call you by." Draco said.

Annabelle then started to charade for them, trying to get them to figure her name out, at least a part of it.

"Pulling? A rope?" Draco asked seeing Annabelle look like she was pulling something up and down. She nodded at him, smiling. Then she pointed up to what she was supposed to be pulling and pointed to her ear.

"You pull a rope to hear something? Is it heavy?" Jade asked seeing Annabelle nod. Jade and Draco looked at her, extremely puzzled.

"Her name can be a thousand things. Why are we wasting time on this?" Draco asked. Jade shot him a dirty look and pointed a finger at him.

"You try explaining what your name is supposed to be without speaking." Jade said going back to Annabelle.

"That's easy. I'd write it down." He said crossing his arms. Jade rolled her eyes at him and focused back on Annabelle who looked disheartened.

"Don't worry about him; he was born without any kind of sensitivity or heart at all." Jade said.

Draco glared at her, wishing that she had been left with the soldiers. He hated her in every way a person could ever hate someone but more. He hated her for last night, he hated her for the past 7 years and he still hated her, even now. He hated her for completely acting normal; as if she hated him too but he knew that she liked him. Somewhere in her, there was this girl that wanted him badly. Draco licked his lips, looking at Jade who kept watching the girl still trying to charade out her name and he thought about how he could get her back before they were in Hogwarts again. He couldn't have a hold of her in Hogwarts; she'd completely forget about him and move on with her life with Potter, that muggle lover and the filthy mudblood Granger.

Annabelle then started to describe to Jade about the church.

"You're praying? Church! Yes? Oh wait." Jade said.

Suddenly it all clicked. The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The Hunchback lived in a church tower and he rang the bells of Notre Dame.

"Quasimodo! I mean bells!" Belle! Your name is Belle!" Jade said excitedly, seeing Annabelle clap her hands and smile along with her. They turned to Draco who watched them unusually.

"Oh my goodness and I thought we were going to spend the whole night here." He said sarcastically.

"Shut it Malfoy." Jade said coldly. Jade turned back to Annabelle and started to explain about their situation. "We have to go to Castile." Jade said seeing Annabelle nod. Annabelle placed her hands out in front of her and again with charades, told Jade that she was a servant came with the soldiers from Castile. Annabelle then gestured to her head, making a royal crown on her head.

"The Queen. Yes we heard. She wants to kill us." Jade nodded.

Annabelle place a finger on her lips and pointed to the trees and pointed to her ear. She then motioned them to follow her to Castile where she promised them to sneak them in.

"We only have one horse. Who's going on it?" Draco asked after hearing Jade's conversation with Annabelle. He in a way resented the innocent looking girl who promised them that she would take them to Castile. He couldn't be alone with Jade and if he was ever going to get Jade drunk again, she'd want to help too.

Jade raised her eyebrows at him and leaned against the horse.

"You're not going to be riding it?" Jade asked.

"What, like I've never been respectful to women before? It's the three of us and for me to sit on the horse is out of the question. You two can get on, I'll walk." Draco said.

Jade took a long look at him, thinking if she should question him further about his kindness. As much of a prick he was, he really did take care of her.

"Are you sure? You don't mind walking at all? If you get tired we can switch." Jade said seeing him nod.

"I'll tell you when my legs start to fall off." He said.

Jade smiled at him and thanked him, seeing him take her thank you awkwardly. They hardly ever shared moments of civility between each other and whenever they did, it would become the most uncomfortable and awkward thing in the world. Jade placed a foot on one of the saddle legs and pushed herself up and onto the horse.

"Come Belle." Jade said stretching out a hand to Belle who shook her head. Belle pointed to herself and Draco and held up two fingers and twiddled them.

"You want to walk? No you can't! You can sit with me!" Jade said patting the seat and Annabelle shook her head. "Malfoy, can you-"

"I wouldn't want to force her up there. She's welcome to walk with me." Draco said to Jade. He looked at Annabelle who smiled with the blush evident in her cheeks. Oh how many times he had to see one of those almost all throughout his teenage life. This girl was mute, but he heard her loud and clear. This girl was probably the key to Jade's door, where she locked that vixen that Draco crazed for, inside. Might as well start flirting with the girl now.

"My name is Draco Malfoy. Nice to meet you Belle." Draco said stretching out a hand for the girl to take.

Jade sat on the horse feeling incredibly aggravated. She was sitting on a horse and no one was talking to her. Annabelle was mute, yet the two conversed as if they had known and understood each other for years. There was one thing that Jade never heard in her life; Draco Malfoy laughed. It wasn't a haughty laugh or an evil chuckle; it was a genuine laugh that she had never heard before. She looked at Annabelle and wondered what in the world she had did or said to make Draco laugh like that. Jade considered herself a funny person. She was fun to be around with and usually made people laugh but liked to always prefer to be alone. All throughout the entire trip, she hadn't made Malfoy laugh one bit?

"Ah that's right. If Malfoy wasn't too busy to try to kill me, I would have gotten him to laugh." Jade said to herself.

"What's that? Are you all right there Princess?" Draco asked jokingly as Annabelle looked like she giggled. Draco shot Annabelle a grin and looked back at Jade who didn't find his little comment charming at all.

"Don't call me that." Jade said seeing him shrug and turn back to Annabelle to resume his conversation with her. She shifted in her seat uncomfortably and looked around the forest, hoping to see the Black Panther again. She sighed loudly and tried to get Draco's annoying voice out of her mind so she could focus on pretty trees or the birds flying around. Hell, who was she kidding? Nothing was pretty when she was all alone while Annabelle and Draco ignored her and acted as if they were alone.

She cleared her throat and waited for either one of them to turn around and ask her what she wanted but felt even irked when they didn't hear her. She at least liked for Malfoy to insult her or feel like he acknowledged her in silence, but he wasn't even doing that. Jade wanted to take off her shoe and hit him with it but her eye caught a figure that quickly hid behind a stone. She kept her eyes on the person behind the stone and saw his hand motion to someone else nearby. Jade quickly followed where he was motioning to and saw two men near the bushes, watching her.

"Malfoy! Malfoy!" Jade hissed, bending down.

"Not now." Draco said waving her off.

"No! Malfoy!" Jade said a little bit louder.

"What do you want?" Draco asked turning around.

"Now!" a voice shouted.

Draco, Jade and Annabelle all turned to see a gang of men emerge from all around them with swords. They weren't soldiers Jade knew that but they looked much more dangerous. They looked like outlaws. One of the men grabbed Annabelle and Draco immediately backed away from them, not wanting to take any part of their ambush. Jade felt someone grab her and drag her off the horse and she screamed.


	19. Gypsies of Castile

**HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!!! Wish you all many more years to come and along that, love, happiness, money, luck and all that good stuff! So here's the updates!!**

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Draco heard Jade's scream and he turned around to see her being dragged off by a shaggy looking man while she kicked and screamed. Draco felt a dose of panic and he leapt towards the man to free Jade from him but was blocked by two men that grinned evilly at him. One of them lifted their fist up and swung into Draco's face, causing him to fall backwards and clutch his nose.

"Let me _go!" _Jade screamed even when her attacker held a small dagger to her neck. A man with long dirty hair and a beard walked out from the trees, chuckling. He looked like he was in his 50's, with gray and white hairs evident from his beard and hair. He wore a nobleman's cap with a large white feather sticking out of it. Jade saw his yellowed teeth and his dirty appearance and almost vomited from the smell coming from the person who was holding her.

"What do you want?" Draco asked calmly, getting himself up from the ground.

"You have a fine horse and you probably have good money." The man said.

"Then let my company go." Draco demanded.

The man raised an eyebrow at Draco and looked at Jade and Annabelle who were terrified.

"All right. Let the women go. We don't cause harm to ladies of course." He chuckled lightly. Jade's attacker let her go and she turned around and shoved him away from her.

"You smelly brute." Jade growled.

The other men roared with laughter as her attacker scowled and walked away from her. Jade went to walk over to Draco to see if he was all right but saw Annabelle right next to him, holding him tightly to see if he was all right. She felt a little stung to see Annabelle looking so concerned over Draco, she barely even knew him. Jade hated Draco but she thought it would have been appropriate to check if he was all right, since she was the one travelling with him.

"I'm all right." Draco assured Annabelle who nodded but still had a hand over Draco.

"We have nothing else but our horse and our money." Jade told the man who narrowed his eyes at her.

"Shut up Harper!" Draco said.

"You shut up." Jade shot back. She looked back at the man who seemed to be a good hearted thief.

"Well; tell me why a gypsy like me can't steal from a commoner like you?" he asked tilting his head slightly as if he were trying to take her seriously.

"A gypsy you say? How could an honorable gypsy like you, steal from poor little gypsies like us?" Jade asked. Draco tensed up and watched quietly seeing the man cross his arms and look at all of them.

"I've never seen you lot around here." The man said.

Draco then looked at Jade, wondering how she would pull this one off. Instead, she burst out laughing and he thought she went mad from being caught. He wanted to make a run for it because of her madness. Screw her; he'd probably have better looking women to sleep with, but for some reason, knowing that she'd be alone and probably dead made Draco think about it for a second time. Right now she wasn't helping any of them by laughing and insulting the leader of the gypsies.

"You haven't seen me around here? Are you not a gypsy or what? Isn't the whole point of a gypsy's existence based on moving land to land? Of course you haven't seen me around here, I haven't seen you around here, does that make you less of a gypsy sir?" Jade asked seeing the man blush behind his slightly dirty face. A couple of men around them chuckled and Jade looked around with a slight smirk. She caught Draco's eye and winked at him, seeing him gulp. She turned back around at the gypsy who broke into a grin and waved his hand.

"All right, you can have your things back. Our lot don't steal from our fellow gypsies, not unless they want to steal us." He said as Jade chuckled and agreed.

"We don't steal. Our lot actually earns the money." Jade said.

"My name is Paul. An honor to meet a respectable gypsy like you." Paul said sticking his hand out for Jade to shake.

"Hello Paul. I am Jade and this is Draco and Belle; my-"

"Followers?" Paul asked seeing Jade shake her head.

"We're all leaders. We're together." Jade told him.

Paul had given Jade, Draco and Annabelle a ride through the entire forest. Jade greeted the rest of the gypsies, a band of 22 men. If the soldiers of Castile ever came to arrest Jade and Draco, the gypsies would put up a fierce fight.

"We're wanted by Castile's men and we're forced to remain in the forest as outlaws, but we send some of our men to steal whenever we need food or clothes from the towns. Often we ambush travelers like we did you." Paul explained as they trotted through the woods to get to the next town.

"So what happens when you run into other gypsies? I'm guessing not all of them end in reconciliation." Jade said seeing Paul boom in laughter and shake his head.

"Indeed they don't. We don't consider them gypsies, not one of us at least. We do not murder people, not unless our lives are threatened. Gypsies that kill for clothes or food or rape are not our kind of people. Often it leads to fights and blood spills once in a while." Paul said as Jade nodded.

They were both on a horse together while Draco and Annabelle were on the other one, much to Jade's extreme annoyance. Annabelle looked as if she were the happiest person in the world, to sit next to that git that probably insulted more people than Annabelle had scrubbed the floors in the Castile kingdom. Jade looked away and concentrated on what lied ahead. As the night fell, the gypsies had started to make a camp site. Paul saw that Jade, Draco and Annabelle had nothing except their horse and a bag full of money and asked what kind of gypsies they were and how they managed. To this, Draco and Jade laughed at him, telling him that he had no idea. The gypsies had made a fire and all of them retired back, drinking and enjoying some of the music they were playing.

"Have some wine." One of the gypsies named John said, pouring wine into their cups.

"Oh no not me." Jade said. Draco stared at her bewilderedly.

"Passing up drinks? With our mates? How could you?" Draco asked, hoping that she'd comply. He didn't know how he'd be with her alone, but he certainly didn't want to shag her in front of the gypsies. They traveled without women and Draco as well as any man that men were easily and often aroused. If Jade started dancing in front of them, he didn't know how he'd escape with her. He wouldn't mind leaving Belle behind. She was getting too emotionally attached. He probably led her on a little too much than he had been aiming for and here she was, not leaving his side.

"Where's Belle?" Jade asked Draco suddenly. Draco looked at her and shrugged.

"What do I know and care?" he asked irritated that she had to remind him of her. Jade lifted herself up and looked around to see that she wasn't with them or in the campsite. She got up and Draco sighed, knocking his head with his hand. She was never going to be easy for him.

"Where are you going?" Draco asked seeing her walk off.

"To find her. Come on." Jade said. Draco wanted to say no but if it meant that they were going to be alone, why of course. He finished his drink and tossed the cup aside and got up to help her look for Belle.

"Where are you going?" Paul asked Draco and Jade who were leaving.

"To find Belle! We'll be back Paul." Jade said seeing Paul give a nod. They walked off and Jade was comforted at the fact that she was with Draco who let her know that he was there by staying close with her.

"Where could she be?" Jade asked looking around. "Belle?" Jade called hearing Draco chuckle.

"What?" Jade hissed.

"You know she can't answer back? You won't be able to hear her at all." He said looking around. Jade rolled her eyes at him and looked away.

"You don't seem concerned at all about her. After being all over her today." Jade said, not wanting to sound like she didn't care at all. She didn't!

"And what's that supposed to mean? All over her today?" Draco asked seeing Jade smirk.

"You like her. It's so obvious Malfoy." Jade said hearing him snort.

"So? She's got a pretty face and a nice body." Draco said seeing Jade flare up.

"Is that all you care about? Her personality doesn't shine brighter than her physical appearances?" Jade asked.

"You know, her ability to not even talk makes her much more attractive in my eyes. Something that would make you more attractive I'm sure." Draco said seeing Jade turn to him and narrow her eyes.

"Go fuck yourself Malfoy. You just can't deal with women like me." She said seeing him slightly raise his eyebrow and step closer to her.

"You're the type of woman that I'd never _want_ to deal with." He said looking over her face and back into her eyes.

"Always running your mouth, not even worth a good time." He said curling his lip in slight disgust. Jade placed her hands on her hips and stared at him, smiling in disbelief.

"I'm so sorry to hear that you're not a gentleman Draco Malfoy. I wish I could alleviate your pain but I don't think I could even if I wanted to. Women like me do not mess around with one-timers like you." Jade said poking his chest. She saw him smile a bit and she looked at him quizzically.

"No." he said flashing his teeth with a grin. "You see. _Every_ women, no matter how pure they are want one-timing men like me. I don't care what you say Harper, I can see it in your eyes. I see it in every woman's eyes. They just don't want that cuddling full of love and bullshit crap. Sometimes they want raw, unadulterated and wicked sex. Ah do I see you blushing?" he asked seeing her stepping away from him, against a tree.

Jade's lip twitched, but she felt her entire body choke up and suddenly very alive from desire. She opened her mouth to say something but found it hard to say anything while Draco was there, staring at her intensely with a slight smile playing on his lips. She found it terrifying to believe that her body had started to get ready to be taken away by Draco himself. He placed a gentle hand on her waist and Jade felt her eyes start to droop, as if she were under some spell already. She watched Draco pause, reading her eyes as if it were safe to kiss her. When he saw her eyes close, he leaned in and placed a small kiss on her lips and waited again, seeing her lips part for him. He smiled and crushed his lips against hers, pushing her roughly on the tree. Jade responded with equal force, wrapping her arms around him tightly and clutching his shirt or his hair. Jade broke free from his lips, letting him travel down her neck and hearing her moaning as softly as she could.

"This fucking thing." Draco cursed, wondering where he should slip his hand so he could touch her. There was rustling nearby which caused them to spring apart. Jade was still dazed by what had just happened. Her heart was pounding and she felt her cheeks blasting with heat. They looked around to see Annabelle walking towards them and smiling when she had seen the two together. Draco cursed the girl for ruining what could have been one of the most beautiful lays he had ever gotten in his entire life. He was once again left in the same situation that Jade had left him in the night before; incomplete, aroused and throbbing. He gritted his teeth and glared at Annabelle who smiled at him and was taken away by Jade who looked entirely embarrassed and shocked at what she had just experienced when she didn't even have a sip of wine.

"Are you all right? Where did you go?" Jade asked, placing a hand on Annabelle's shoulder. Annabelle gestured that she had to use the bathroom and Jade nodded, going back to the campsite and ignoring Draco. Jade sat down with Annabelle right next to her and started to feel incredibly nervous when Draco preferred to sit right next to her than Annabelle. 

_'He wants you.'_ the voice in Jade's head quickly said. Jade demanded it to shut up and tried very hard not to think about it. _'Otherwise he wouldn't have sat away from you like you're trying to do.'_

Jade clenched her hands together and looked straight ahead at Paul who ordered one of his men to serve drinks to Draco, Jade and Annabelle. Jade hastily took the cup of wine and drank it down without skipping a beat. Draco sat there, and the cup didn't even reach to his lips as he looked at Jade asking for a second glass of spiced wine. He smiled greedily, seeing her nervous exterior start to melt and her body starting to relax. The lock was slowly being opened and all he could do was wait. Jade looked over to Annabelle who started to drift off to sleep. Jade finished the rest of her drink and looked over to Draco who sat there, his arms hanging over his knees, holding his cup and watching her.

"You're not getting anything from me Malfoy." Jade blurted. He mocked a smile and nodded.

"All right. I don't want anything from you." he said seeing her furrow her eyebrows and open her mouth to gape.

"What? You don't want me?" Jade asked seeing him grin.

"Are you offering?" he asked seeing her look at him in disgust.

"I'm not some kind of product to be sold or offered to anyone. I like to respect myself you know." Jade said pouring herself another cup of wine.

"Not when you're drinking like that. Sometimes you're a little…fun when you're drunk." Draco said seeing Jade laugh.

"Harry said the exact same thing." Jade sighed. Draco wanted to roll his eyes and make fun of her, but saw her forehead wrinkle and her mouth turn into a frown. Her lower lip trembled but she tried to hold herself up and took a sip from her cup.

"What happened?" Draco asked sincerely. He hated to see women cry, especially over a ridiculous relationship that never worked out. He didn't understand why people never let go. It wasn't a big deal. As if there wasn't enough that was going on in the world. Jade shook her head, not wanting to tell but Draco placed a hand on her knee, seeing her break down.

"I really did like him. The first man I've ever-"

"Oh dear God." Draco said knocking the palm of his hand with his head. Jade quieted down and didn't utter a word after that. Instead, she curled up by herself, coping with her inner battles.

"Harper." Draco said, feeling bad that he had cut her off. He just didn't want to have her cry all over him and explain how that exact day went. Draco touched Jade's arm and she shook him off roughly, trying to get him away from her.

"I'm sure it's not all that bad." He said moving himself closer to her. Jade roughly wiped her eyes and turned to look at Draco as if she were going to kill him.

"Yes you're absolutely right. Nothing about my breaking up with Harry was all that bad." Jade said seeing him shake his head.

"I know you're upset about whatever happened between the two of you but it's been what…a year or two?" Draco asked shrugging to see Jade nod.

"There are some things you won't understand Draco." Jade said seeing him tilt his head to the side when she had said his name.

"It's different for everyone…especially for you and me." She said.

They both stared at each other quietly, finding their silence comforting. Draco found a new feeling for Jade. It was a pleasant feeling, something he rarely gave anyone. Draco knew many people in life, but no one except Dumbledore and possibly Snape on some levels evoked these types of feeling before. The feeling called respect. He looked at Jade knowing that she was an imperfect person with a lot of faults and possibly the most irritating person he had to cross by but she was definitely worthy of his respect.

Since that striptease and dance she had performed for money yesterday, Draco never in his life thought that he'd ever be able to take that same woman seriously. He had looked at her as if she were a piece of meat but now he had seen her as a human being, just like him that carried dignity and a lot more knowledge and sensibility than he ever gave her credit for. He imagined himself going through Castile with another girl from Hogwarts. Most of them would probably be ravished by now, but he couldn't imagine himself with any other girl than Harper. He'd rather travel with someone worth his time and life than some bimbo that could probably drop dead for all he cared. Draco placed a hand on her hands and saw her look down at them and look back up.

"I'm sorry…Jade." He said. Her eyes softened and she managed a small smile through her tense and rueful face.

"Really?" Jade squeaked seeing him nod and look embarrassed.

"I mean it. I'm sorry." He said. Jade sighed a smile and squeezed his hand tightly.

"Do you hate me?" Jade asked, clearly having gone over the limit again. This time it wasn't as bad as last night's when she had tried to force herself on him. She was much more mellow.

"Do _you_ hate me?" Draco asked seeing her point a finger at him.

"I asked you first." Jade said pointedly.

"I know you did but I'd like to know first myself." Draco said seeing her laugh and scoot closer to him.

"I'll give you my honest answer. First you answer the question I asked you first." Jade said.

"You promise to honestly answer my question? No matter what I say?" Draco asked seeing her nod.

"On my honor as a gypsy." She said as seriously as she could. Draco found the corners of his lips lift, finding her ridiculous but at the same time very easy to talk to.

"All right." He said nodding.

"All right what? How much do you hate me?" Jade asked looking at him, absolutely amused.

"I don't. I don't hate you. Not anymore." Draco said seeing her drop her mouth, looking at him with fascination.

"You lie!" Jade accused, seeing him shake his head.

"Why would I lie Harper? I don't hate you and that's the truth. On my honor as a gypsy…really." He said as she giggled. He smiled at her, seeing her bow her head down, still laughing.

"Are you going to try to kill me again?" she asked, this time looking up, her smiling fading away.

"I'm not a murderer." He said softly. Jade sighed loudly and looked at him thoughtfully.

"I know you're not…not yet at least." She said. They both broke into chuckles and Draco nodded at her.

"Your turn." He said seeing her smile playfully and try to look sober.

"My turn?" Jade asked seeing him nod.

"You promised to answer my question honestly." He said seeing her shrug.

"What if I don't want to answer your question?" Jade asked.

Draco was disappointed. He really wanted to be as honest as he could with her. He hadn't been this honest with a person as he was with himself. He hadn't been this natural and unguarded with anyone else and here she was, stomping all over him and cheating him once again. He felt himself start to build a wall again and protect himself from disappointment. He let go of Jade's hands and looked away from her.

"You don't have to." He said curtly. He went to lie down to sleep but felt Jade catch his arm.

"Wait. I want to answer your question." Jade said softly, pulling him to sit up again.

"I don't want to hear it." Draco said icily. Jade smiled at him, despite his attitude towards her. She breathed in deeply and ran her hand across his cheek and to his hair.

"You don't need to listen." Jade breathed. He stared at her, watching her lean in and kiss him softly. He closed his eyes, feeling her press a hand on his thigh and slowly move her lips with his. He wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her closer on his lap as she kissed him harder. He felt a tad bit ashamed for snogging her and trying to use her now. This was the perfect opportunity for him to take her but he felt completely different about her now. He wanted to respect her and this was not a way to do it. He broke the kiss off, seeing her try to pull him back.

"What?" Jade asked irritably. Draco swallowed nervously but still had his arms around her. He loosened his grasp, letting his hands rest on his lap.

"I don't think what we're doing is a good idea." He said seeing Jade click her teeth and shake her head.

"It's a wonderful idea." She said placing her hands on the sides of his head and kiss him again. "It's a damn good idea actually." Jade murmured. Draco blissfully allowed himself to kiss her again but the thought of using her while she wasn't in her complete senses disturbed him. A bloody annoying thought that was.

"Jade-"

"What?" Jade complained.

"We can't do this, not when you're drunk. I can't do this to you…and believe me, you'll regret wanting to kiss me when you're sober." He said hearing her chuckle.

"Really? But I really do like you…_a lot_." Jade emphasized. "And I'm not really that drunk. What did you say before? Women like wicked sex? I like wicked…not when it's happening by force; then it just gets traumatic, but I want you now. I'm allowing you to take me now." Jade said, straddling him with her hips.

Draco's heartbeat skyrocketed and he immediately wrapped his arms around her waist. He looked around to see the men around them, quiet and watching them intensely with a wicked grin plastered on their faces. He snarled at them, seeing them finally look away.

"Come on Malfoy, loosen up." Jade said grabbing his face and directing it to her. Draco gently took her hand down, feeling as if his entire body was going to explode from agony.

"We have to go to sleep. We'll talk about this tomorrow." He said softly, seeing her lower herself from his lap.

"You don't want to take advantage of me while I'm drunk?" Jade asked seeing Draco shake his head.

"No…I don't." Draco said. A part of him intensely disagreed, telling him he was the world's biggest idiot for passing up such an easy shag but he didn't want to think about it that way like that again. It wasn't appropriate for either of them right now. Jade gave a resigned sigh and wrapped her arms around him tightly, kissing him deeply. She let him go and kissed him again.

"You're such a good man." Jade slurred, lying her head on his chest. Draco lied down, having her curl into his chest, wrapping an arm and a leg around him. "You're not like them. You're not like him." Jade said closing her eyes. Draco felt a newer and much more different responsibility towards her. He wanted to protect her. He placed a hand on her head and patted her softly. Her last words before she fell asleep changed him entirely and what he had always thought of her before.

"He raped me." She said before falling deeply asleep.


	20. Crocodiles

Jade woke up in the morning next to Draco who had an arm wrapped around her. She gasped sharply as if his hand were a snake and froze in horror, watching him. Did she drink too much again? Jade peered down to see that she was fully clothed but what did she do now this time for him to hold her while they slept next to each other? Last night's kiss near the trees came back to her and Jade instantly fell into a whirlwind of anxiety. The only things she could remember was kissing him, going back to the campsite and she drank heavily to ward off the shock she had been storing inside of her. She also remembered having a conversation with him and speaking to him about Harry and her self-worth but that was that. The rest she couldn't remember at all.

"Oh Merlin I'm so stupid." Jade said hitting her head with her hand. She shook her head in disbelief and felt someone gently shake her shoulder. Jade turned to see Annabelle sitting next to her, looking as if she had been up earlier.

"Hey, when did you wake up?" Jade asked.

Annabelle didn't know what to think. She had woken up to find Draco and Jade sleeping in each other's arms. Since when had they been together? Every time they spoke, Annabelle had figured that they detested each other and even Draco confirmed it yesterday by telling her that Jade was nothing but a filthy and stupid 'mudblood', whatever that meant to him. She didn't understand some of the terms that they had used with each other. She witnessed Jade once call him a bouncing ferret and couldn't understand how Draco could ever resemble one, especially a bouncing one. She didn't want to come in between them if they already loved each other.

A small weight pressed in her heart as she tried to strangle whatever hope or happiness she had with Draco. Jade was very kind to her and not at all malicious towards her like others had been during Annabelle's life. Jade treated her very graciously so Annabelle couldn't take anything away from Jade. She looked over to Draco who stirred in his sleep and opened his eyes to see Jade and only Jade. Jade blushed deeply and looked away in embarrassment.

Jade walked along with the rest of the gypsies after they had their bread, cheese and ale in the morning. Jade looked over to Draco who walked along beside her, not uttering a single word. He looked much more relaxed and in a happier mood. Jade wondered why he was in such a good mood and looked so optimistic about the day. Annabelle tailed by behind them, her frock from the bottom completely worn and dirty like Jade's.

"It's been so long since I've fucked a woman." A man blurted out, closing his eyes and looking as if he was envisioning something that Jade rather not think about.

"Don't start Alfred. We have ladies in our company!" Paul berated. Alfred quickly looked at Annabelle and Jade and gave them a half apologetic look.

"Not that I don't like you both, you just don't help ease my pain at all. Especially seeing you two last night." Alfred said, looking at Draco and Jade slyly. Jade looked at him, flabbergasted. Last night? What did they do last night? She only kissed him once last night and it was behind the tree. Did she kiss him again after she got drunk?

'_Idiot drunkard! What did I tell you about drinking?'_ Jade thought fiercely. The rest of the men broke into laughter and Jade's blush deepened. She looked at Draco who also looked uncomfortable but also miffed about the men picking on him and Jade.

"You both should have just gone into the woods. We wouldn't have followed you. Poor man tried to pry Jade off and get her to go to sleep. If I had a woman that was as crazy about me…" another said.

Jade bit her lip and tried not to look offended or extremely surprised when she had heard that. _She_ had to be pried off of _Draco_? She looked like she was crazy about him? Jade turned to look at Draco who was caught looking at her. He quickly looked away and rubbed his neck in embarrassment. Jade opened her mouth slightly, slacking her jaw and narrowing her eyes at whatever was in front of her. Draco was too embarrassed to even mention it to bring it up. Jade didn't bring it up either. She didn't want to create a scene in front of anyone anyways. Jade was thankful for Draco not to put this embarrassing mishap in front of her face to ridicule her. Jade was also embarrassed and mortified as it was and wouldn't be able to believe how badly she would have reacted if he made fun of her for that. He hardly spoke to her, but when he did, it would be simple comments or questions; nothing sickeningly shameful for her. She wanted to hug him and thank him for the favor he was doing for her. Even though everyone noticed last night, he hadn't taken any advantage over her and didn't leave her on her own for any other guy to ravish. He made sure she was asleep and all right. This morning when she had woken up, she woke up to having his arm over her and she felt a smile make its way across her face. For all this time, she had thought of him as the worst possible human being after Voldemort and Lucius Malfoy but maybe he wasn't all that bad. Maybe there was some humanity in him that needed to be given time to show.

_'But he hates me. He still wants to kill me.'_ Jade thought frowning slightly. She tore off a small piece of leaf from a branch nearby and tossed it to the side. Jade went to walk on when she suddenly looked back to her side to see nothing. She turned around and saw no one there, not even Draco. Her heart spiked threateningly and she started to run back, trying to figure out where she was. She was so deeply concentrated on her thoughts, she didn't even realize when she started to stray away from them.

"Holy Merlin. Draco?!" Jade called, hearing no one. Jade swore out loud and walked further, calling Draco's name but heard absolutely nothing. Jade felt the silent panic creeping up to her but she took a deep breath and tried to keep a level head. She'd find him like she always had before. He was somewhere nearby and Jade just had to look around for him and the entire gang of gypsies that had seemed to disappear. She heard a faint call of her name and Jade felt an extreme relief come over her.

"Draco!" Jade shouted. She ran past a few trees, seeing the forest growing darker and a pungent and rotting smell swirl around her. This wasn't the route she had come from. This was completely different. Jade went to leave but was stopped when she heard a deep growling sound. She turned around and saw a dark marsh below her where a pair of sinister golden eyes with long black slits for pupils stare at her from the murky waters. Jade took a step back, holding herself protectively against a tree.

"You are not welcomed in Castile." Jade heard. She saw a few alligators emerge from the waters, looking as if they were thirsty to do away with her.

"I don't want to be here." Jade said. She was thankful to be a few feet high above them as they stared up at her hungrily. They hissed, still staring.

"And you won't leave alive." The crocodile promised.

Jade found it extremely peculiar to be conversing with animals that could actually _speak_. She had a hard time speaking to the Black Panther who she had not seen after it saved her life from Nicolas and Jack a few days ago. Now these crocodiles were baring their teeth, hissing and growling for her.

"You know what; you can go fuck yourself for all I care! I'm getting out of here and I don't need you to tell me that I can't. You tell your Queen to piss _off_…bloody reptiles." Jade spat angrily.

She wasn't going to be bullied by an animal, telling her that she'd die anyways. Apparently the Queen of Castile didn't know Jade bloody Harper. She went to turn around to leave. Jade placed a foot on a small stone and went to walk over it, but immediately slipped from the slippery stone. Jade let out a bloodcurdling scream and grabbed onto whatever she could with her fingernails to prevent herself from falling to being torn into pieces by the blood hungry crocodiles that she told to piss off. She heard them hissing beneath her and even try to crawl as close as they could to snap at her. Jade screamed, feeling the panic overcoming her. Her hands started slipping but Jade still tried to manage to hold on for dear life. The soft and mushy earth under her death grip started to slide off and Jade felt her entire heart seem to come down and shatter into a million pieces.

Again she was faced by death but Jade felt that this was the real thing. No one was with her and these crocodiles proved to expand their interest in having her for lunch. No one was going to find her, not even Draco. How long was she going to hold on for until the earth under her hands finally broke off? She was going to die a brutal death, but die a good person. She was going to be with her father again, the only person who she could have loved and trusted with all her being. Jade closed her eyes, feeling the tears from her eyes fall down her cheeks and she finally let go to surrender and fall into the pit of angry, bloodthirsty crocodiles.


	21. Morally Red

As soon as Jade let go, her hands slammed back to the earth and it was as if her hands were locked from going absolutely anywhere. Jade's body was limp and heavy, and she felt her wrists about to rip apart from carrying her weight. She opened her eyes to see Draco right there, getting a better hold of her arms and pulling her up.

"Pull yourself up!" he shouted. Jade could hardly believe her eyes. She was ready to let go and die but at that exact moment, Draco had found her. She was so incredibly happy to see him, she could cry. Draco saw the crocodiles from beneath, trying to run up the dirt wall to catch Jade's legs but Draco wasn't going to allow that at all. He saw that Jade stared at him, obviously in deep shock and he kept trying to tell her to pull herself up but it seemed as if she wasn't even listening. He wrapped an arm around her upper body and pulled as hard as he could to get her completely safe from harm. He fell back; feeling exhausted from pulling her out of danger and placed a hand over his eyes, gasping for breath.

"Y-you saved me." Jade said, still staring at him, stunned. Draco removed his hand from his eyes and stared angrily at her.

"Yes or you would have died. What do you think you were doing Harper? Is this place some kind of tour for you? Did I not warn you about this place? Did you not get the memo that this place is one of the most dangerous places in the Wizarding world?" he asked angrily. He didn't care if he was hurting her feelings, she needed a good scolding. She needed to realize that she was just about to be killed and this wasn't some little vacation that they were taking for the pure hell of it. Their lives were in mortal danger in any corner of this bloody forsaken place.

"I got lost Malfoy, what's wrong with you? I know my life's at risk. Do you think anyone would be depressed enough to just walk into a pit full of hissing crocodiles?" Jade asked him hotly. They both shook in anger knowing that the other was just a stubborn prick.

"Then you must be an idiot. How could you get lost with all of those people walking with you?" he asked. Jade rolled her eyes at him.

"It happens Malfoy. People often get lost, even when they're with big bands of people. Someone's bound to get lost." Jade said finally getting up. Draco also stood up, still angry at her.

"Yes, it's usually the brainless ones." He said. Jade turned towards him and pushed his shoulder.

"Why'd you even bother to save me then you Death Eater?" Jade asked. She saw him tense up and look at her murderously.

"Take that back Harper." Draco hissed.

"No thank you. Don't run your mouth off and act angry that I've nearly killed myself back there. You don't even give a dragon's shit if I live or not, you just want to bask in all the glory you can in front of Paul, those gypsies and your Belle." Jade spat.

Draco balled up his fists, feeling humiliated and betrayed by her. From what he had thought of her, to now, he felt an unpleasant blow to himself as a person. He saved her life because he wanted to protect her just for her to belittle his actions and say that it was an excuse for glory and that he didn't care. Maybe he shouldn't care about her anymore. Maybe everyone was like this and no one was really worth to deserve his sincerity. His wall had been built and he felt his entire heart ice up again.

"Even Potter doesn't deserve to have raped a washed up whore like you." Draco said malevolently.

Jade instantly felt her anger vanish and her entire world disintegrate. Her shoulders slumped and Jade felt her heart vanish. There was nothing inside of her, except for the choking sensation of a sob making its way through her throat. Her eyes quickly filled with tears and felt like the most defeated individual in the entire universe. No human being, not even an enemy would say that to another human being. Draco had used the cheapest and the most hardest heart shattering blow he could ever use. The one thing that Jade always kept private in her life and even from herself had resurfaced. She _never_ spoke of this incident to anyone, not even to herself. She buried this secret in her heart but Draco found out and Jade knew she could never forgive herself for ever telling him. She stared at him who looked ruthlessly at her. Fresh new tears trailed down her face and she shook her head at him.

"How could you say that to me?" she asked softly.

Draco thought he could answer that but couldn't. Instead he looked at her and understood at what extent he had hurt her. Draco completely broke her. Now she stood in front of him, crying silently and looking at him like the she had been defeated. They heard footsteps nearby and Draco turned to see Annabelle and a couple of other gypsies appear from the trees.

"Where were you two? Where did you go off to?" one of the gypsies asked. Jade only stared at Draco, not even being able to speak. Annabelle stood there feeling awkward. Jade looked heartbroken and Draco was torn between apologizing and looking incredibly angry. She wondered what happened between them. Jade finally tore her eyes off of Draco and walked away, from them. Annabelle followed her out and they all led Jade and Draco to the group again.

"Where did you run off to? You had Draco worried sick." Paul smiled when Jade came back with Annabelle. Jade didn't answer him but only mounted the horse and looked straight ahead.

"Is she all right?" Paul whispered to Annabelle who shrugged. They saw Draco appear with the other men and Draco looked as miserable as Jade did.

"What happened back there?" Paul asked confusedly.

The men shook their heads and shrugged, equally puzzled. Draco mounted onto another horse and everyone watched them silently. When they didn't even show that they were interested in telling them what had happened, Paul signaled everyone to get back on their horses and they all rode off to the next town of Castile.

This specific town was much livelier than the last town. People had been juggling balls of fire and women were dancing with small tambourines, earning money like Jade had.

"Thank you Paul." Jade said hugging Paul who smiled warmly at her. They were next to the whorehouse where all the men couldn't wait to relieve themselves from the women who coyly watched them from the open windows from above.

"It was an honor to escort you my lady." Paul bowed. Jade patted his shoulder and nodded at him.

"Goodbye. It was nice to see you Paul." Jade said seeing him nod.

"May we meet again." He said.

Jade didn't reply to that. She probably won't see him again. Either she was going to Hogwarts or she was going to die, nothing promised him to let him see her again. Jade took a step back and let him wish Draco and Annabelle goodbye. Draco shook hands with Paul who had given him a piece of advice on women.

"Whatever you say, women will always be right. Do not let a small squabble ruin something as precious as love. Of course you are probably thinking, what does a gypsy know?" Paul asked, seeing Draco shove his hands into his pockets and look away angrily.

"I have been in love with a woman for nearly 35 years in my life. We had a happy life together until we had a small fight and she died from a bridge collapse with my 10 year old girl. I could not tell them I loved them or tell her I was sorry. Women come and go in your life Draco but the special ones, the ones that are worthy of your love should be treated like you're worthy of them. Right Jade?" Paul asked Jade who crossed her arms and turned, not the least bit interested in anything he had to say.

"She is always right no matter what. If she murders, you support her because you love her. Just know that." Paul said pointing to Jade.

Draco shook his head and went to explain that Jade and him weren't an item but Paul cut him off.

"No arguments. Make up with your lady and enjoy whatever you have between each other. You are young, you probably have another 50 years ahead of you but who knows, maybe you will die tomorrow. No one is certain." Paul said.

Draco mulled over his words and inwardly shook his head. Paul had _no_ idea. Paul clapped Draco's shoulder and started walking back inside of the whorehouse.

"Good day to you!" Paul said disappearing.

When Paul had left them, Draco, Jade and Annabelle stood there awkwardly, wondering what to do next. Usually Jade would chirp up and suggest something but she was stone cold this time, not even bothering to say anything. Draco turned to Annabelle, and directed the question at Jade.

"I'm hungry, what do you say?" Draco asked Annabelle who glanced at Jade who stood near them, not bothering to cooperate. She looked back at Draco who determinedly kept looking at her, as if he was expecting her to open her mouth and _say_ something when she obviously couldn't. Annabelle gestured that she was hungry too but to ask Jade what she wanted.

"We'll go get something to eat then." Draco said not harassing himself into asking Jade what she wanted. He walked off for them to follow but heard Jade stop Annabelle.

"Annabelle do you know if there are any places to stay? I'm extremely exhausted." Jade told Annabelle who nodded.

When she would come down to the towns, they would usually spend the night in. Annabelle took Jade's hand and led her to a small yet cozy inn that she had seen the soldiers spend the night in while she slept inside of the carriage with the cook. Draco followed Jade and Annabelle who had walked towards a building where they saw horses being walked in by their owners. Chickens were being fed by women and a man sweeping the stairs. Jade, Annabelle and Draco walked up the stairs and the man looked up at them, in his thirties with short blonde hair.

"What do you want?" he asked rudely, seeing their dirty and worn clothing.

"How much is a room for one night?" Draco asked curtly. The innkeeper shot a look at Draco and realized that they wanted to spend the night and they had money.

"An entire silver shilling." The man replied, looking at them curiously.

"Give me two rooms." Draco told him. The innkeeper dropped his broom and bowed, gesturing inside.

"Yes! Yes! Whole heartedly! Come in! Come in!" the innkeeper told them.

They walked in and looked around the inn. It was well kept and tidy for the medieval times but both Jade and Draco found it to be disgusting by their standards. The innkeeper showed them to their rooms and Jade immediately lied down on her bed to fall asleep. When the innkeeper left, Draco again asked Annabelle if she was hungry.

"Then let's leave. I'm hungry as it is. Tell her to wake up." Draco said lowering her voice to Annabelle who nodded. Annabelle walked over to Jade and shook her gently. Jade looked at Annabelle, wanting to go back to sleep.

"I'm not hungry Belle. You can eat without me." Jade said closing her eyes and burying her face in her arms. Annabelle looked over to Draco who was surprised. They hadn't eaten anything this morning, she should be starving! Annabelle persisted but Jade pushed her away.

"I'm not hungry. Please just leave me alone." Jade said sternly. Annabelle got up and looked at Draco who waved Jade off and opened the door.

"We'll just see how long she can last without food." Draco snapped as Annabelle left the room.

He slammed the door shut, feeling incredibly furious at Jade who wanted to be stubborn. Fine, let her be. How long could she be stubborn for? Draco would certainly find out today. He had seen a lot of people pull the 'I'm not hungry' trick all the time and in the end, they gave up and gave in to their food. It wasn't going to fool him and he wasn't going to be guilty about anything once she puts something in her mouth. Draco walked down the streets with Annabelle by his side. Annabelle noted that he was furious and didn't want to further upset him. They walked into a tavern that didn't surprise either of them. It was a stench filled and crowded tavern with men. There were a couple of women scattered around, sitting on the laps of men or trying to flirt around to find payment for the night. Draco sat down and a thin and lanky boy came up to them with ale.

"What would you like to have today sir?" the boy asked, wiping his hands with a small handkerchief that hung from the side of his belt.

"What do you have?" Draco asked.

"Slices of cold beef and bread." The lad said.

"Go on." Draco said seeing the boy nod.

Draco turned to Annabelle who looked uncomfortable sitting there in the tavern. She wasn't typically attractive, but had an innocent and sweet face. She looked highly gullible and it was a danger for the both of them. It would attract thieves or other money swindlers and Draco didn't want to deal with that. The last thing he needed out of all the problems in the world is to earn the money back that Jade made for the both of them. He felt a tinge of guilt and even regret pinching him slightly inside. Annabelle softly placed a hand on Draco's hand and he looked up to see her nervously look at him. Draco withdrew his hand from her and crossed his arms together.

"I tried saving her life and instead of being thankful or being grateful; she called me a Death Eater." Draco told Annabelle who wrinkled her face, probably wondering what a Death Eater was.

"She called me a murderer…ough you wouldn't understand. You don't know what we've been through or where we came from." Draco said looking off. Annabelle softly knocked on the table and gained back Draco's attention. Annabelle gestured two fingers.

"First one…forgive; no, next." Draco said seeing her sigh and gesture to the second word.

"Forget? Definitely not." Draco said.

The thin boy came back with their food and set it down on the table. Annabelle attacked her food and scarfed it down, never feeling this hungry in her life. Draco ate but as hungry as he was, he found it incredibly hard to eat when he knew that Jade was all alone, eating absolutely nothing. He chewed slowly, seeing Annabelle stuff her cheeks with food that tasted like dung. A heavyset and muscular man walked by their table and stood next to Annabelle who glanced at him and quickly looked away.

"What's yer name darlin'?" he asked taking out a pouch filled with money out. He shook it in front of her and she ignored him, looking at Draco intently. The man looked at Draco and curled his lip, looking at Draco.

"I'll pay yeh double the money he's givin' yeh." The man said scratching his beard.

Draco wanted to avoid getting his arse kicked. He didn't want to deal with a man that was twice his size and Annabelle was definitely not fighting for. Annabelle took her chair and scooted away from him but he kept going closer to her.

"Why are yeh lookin' at him for?" the man growled looking at Draco who looked down at his food.

"Hey! Yeh got a problem with me?" he boomed, swiping Annabelle's empty plate and cup off the table. Draco looked up and put his hands up in mock surrender.

"I'm minding my own business; you're the one causing a problem for yourself." Draco said. The entire tavern laughed at the man who went to grab Draco but Draco stood up and stepped back.

"I'm leaving in peace." He said. He stepped away and saw the man watch him make his way out of the tavern. Annabelle was in complete terror as Draco left her alone. She looked at the man who turned back to her and chuckled darkly.

"That was easier than I thought." The man said grabbing Annabelle's hand.

Draco wondered if he was doing the right thing. Obviously it wasn't, but he was being saved from getting beaten up right? Annabelle meant nothing to him, but still, what did she do to deserve being taken away from that brute? He remembered the time he had left Jade the countless times when they were both in danger. She took it by full measure, even when knowing there were serious consequences following right behind it.

Draco often thought people like that were fools and didn't even care about their lives. Annabelle was a friend of his and Jade's and what kind of person would he be if he allowed another man to manhandle her when Draco could have done something about it? Jade wouldn't have tolerated it. She would have marched right up to that man and would have done whatever she could to stand up for what was right and in this case, Annabelle was right.

Draco turned around, seeing the man grab Annabelle's arm who started to cry uncontrollably. Draco mustered up the courage and for once in his life; he went to defend someone who wasn't him. The man heaved in laughter and went to bring Annabelle closer but heard someone from behind him.

"Hey; dick face!"

The man turned around and saw Draco swing a chair right at him, causing him to stumble back and fall. Draco swore the whole tavern shook and let out a sputtered laugh, pointing at the man who was unconscious on the floor, his pot belly sticking up in the air. The men got up and looked at Draco incredulously and for a split second, Draco thought he was in deep trouble. Instead, they all cheered and paraded towards him, clapping his back, congratulating him and thanking him for knocking down the troublemaker who had been harassing them and their women for a very long time.

"Free ale for you sir!" the boy said handing him an extra cup of ale for him and Annabelle.

"Actually, is it all right if you can pack me some food? I have a friend." Draco explained seeing the boy nod graciously. Draco turned to Annabelle who was grateful for him to come back and save her from the man. She crashed herself against him and hugged him and Draco stood there, unsure if he should hug her.

"Don't worry about it." Draco said, relieved that she finally pulled back.

He could see that she really did feel strongly for him but he wanted to let her know that, that wasn't how he felt and that she shouldn't really like him for anything really. He was so close to abandoning her, if it wasn't the sudden good side of him that sprung up, he would have never came back. The boy came back and handed Draco a small basket of food and Draco thanked him, paying him his money. Draco handed Annabelle the basket and went to put his pouch back into his belt. He heard Annabelle gasp and looked up to see her terrified expression. The men around tensed up and Draco froze, his eyes moving around to see everyone gape at what was behind him.

Draco slowly turned his head and saw the man towering over him, looking thunderous. Draco chuckled nervously and saw the blood dripping from the man's nose.

"You know…red is a great color for you. Really brings out your…er…nose?" Draco said.


	22. Dirty Armors

**Last update for tonight! Enjoy and please review! =D**

Jade's eyes were swollen from crying and she felt nothing inside of her anymore. She sat up in her bed and wiped her face. She couldn't believe someone would try to bring her down to a place where no one deserved. She placed fist under her chin and wondered how in the world, even while drunk she explained to Draco about Harry raping her. What happened between Harry and her had been an accident. He never meant to hurt her and Jade never brought it up with Harry again. Out of all the things, why did she choose to enclose this information to Draco Malfoy, especially while snogging him in between that? The door opened and Jade looked up to see Annabelle walk in with Draco standing near the doorway. Annabelle had blood on her white frock and Jade looked at her, feeling fearsome.

"What happened to you? Where are you bleeding?" Jade asked getting up from the bed and checking Annabelle. Annabelle shook her head at herself and pointed to Draco who started to leave.

"How did this happen?" Jade asked quietly as Annabelle sat her down and took out food. She gave it to Jade who went to shake her head but Annabelle threatened not to tell Jade anything unless she started to eat. Food from the 1300's weren't really delectable for a person coming from the 20th century in England, but it was good enough for a starving person. Jade ate as slowly as she could, not trying to choke on anything. She pulled out custard that she mentioned to Draco while they were at Betsy's tavern and a few fruits covered in sugar that would probably cost a fortune. She looked at Annabelle and pointed to the sweets.

"He picked out these sweets?" Jade asked seeing Annabelle nod and smile. "For me or for himself?" Jade asked seeing Annabelle point to Jade.

"I see." Jade murmured, relishing the sweet custard. Annabelle giggled and placed a hand over her mouth to stop herself from looking as if she were going to burst with laughter.

"What happened?" Jade asked offering a fruit to Annabelle who shook her head.

Annabelle rapidly got carried away by telling Jade what had happened with hand movements and recreating the scene by acting it out. Jade got the gist of it. Somehow, there had been this gigantic man that tried to harass Annabelle and what surprised Jade the most was when she found out that Draco came and tried to defend Annabelle. He _never_ did that for her. Well at least he wasn't like this to everyone and had some decency for other people.

"And he came back alive? Well that's just too bad now isn't it?" Jade said sarcastically. Annabelle looked at Jade sadly and placed a hand on hers. Annabelle gestured to Jade that Draco was a good man and to forgive him but Jade shook her head.

"No way in hell am I ever going to-" they saw the door open and Draco stormed in, grabbing both of their arms.

"You take your filthy-"

"Shut up." Draco hissed. Jade stared at him in shock as he dragged her and Annabelle out of the room.

"What are you _doing_?" Jade snarled as he took them down a long hallway and down the stairs. They were on the second floor of the inn and Draco pulled them into a random room. The couple who were two men making love in their bed got up and went to yell but Draco shouted a stunning spell at both of them. Their bodies went rigid and they fell back on to their beds. Annabelle gasped at what she saw and Jade was taken aback. Draco turned to Annabelle and nodded.

"Yes darling, I'm a wizard." He said tucking in his wand in his pocket.

"Have you lost your fucking mind Malfoy?" Jade asked seeing him pick their clothes up and throw it to her.

"Wear them, _now_." Draco ordered.

"You better explain what-" Jade couldn't finish.

Draco grabbed her hand and led her towards the window where a group of soldiers were standing outside.

"That's why. Now get ready as quickly as you can, we have to leave." Draco said taking his shirt off and slipping on the robes of what seemed to be of a constable's.

"What's Belle going to wear?" Jade asked Draco who turned to look at Jade and then Annabelle who was nervously watching them, unsure of what to do.

"Oh…I don't know. There are only two constables here. Maybe you should stay back and hide here until they leave, then we'll come back and get you." Draco said. He really didn't care about Annabelle and didn't mind if she stood back.

"I'm not leaving her behind." Jade told Draco who looked like he didn't want to argue.

"Then what do you want me to do? We have no other option but to leave her behind." Draco said to Jade who tried to think quickly. Annabelle placed a hand on Jade's hand and shook her head.

"I'm not leaving without you Belle. I'm not leaving you here by yourself." Jade said, feeling her throat tighten. Annabelle merely smiled and held Jade's hand to her cheek. She motioned Jade to go on and that she'd meet them soon but Jade was extremely reluctant. Annabelle turned to Draco for support and he walked over to Jade and handed her the head wear of the constable. Jade took it and looked at Annabelle apologetically. Annabelle comforted Jade, letting her know that she'd be all right and it wasn't her life that was important to them, it theirs.

"Keep yourself safe and meet us at the end of town if you can." Jade said seeing Annabelle nod. Jade hugged Annabelle, not wanting to let go of her.

"They're searching. Hurry up." Draco said peeking out through the door. He turned and felt his heart drop when he saw the innkeeper standing right next to his door, staring at him with giant eyes.

"Hey! It's you! They're looking for-" the innkeeper didn't get to finish because Draco grabbed him, pulled him inside and hit his head as hard as he could against the wall. The innkeeper went unconscious and Draco sighed, patting his hands.

"We're in trouble." Draco told Jade who looked at Annabelle, still determined to take her out.

"I think I have an idea." Jade said looking at Annabelle.

Jade and Draco dragged Annabelle out of the Inn, who had her head bent as her hair covered her face.

* * *

"Evening Constable." Someone said.

Jade and Draco turned around and tipped their heads at him and dragged Annabelle faster. They walked past the Knights who nudged each other and pointed to the two constables who dragged what could have probably been a drunken woman that caused trouble at the Inn.

"Why don't you just leave her with us constable?" one of the Knight's joked.

"Because we have a go with her at first." Draco couldn't help but comment.

Jade wanted to shoot him a dirty look but she was too disgusted and angry at him to even look at him. They successfully walked away from the Knights and away from the Inn.

"Where did the bloody Innkeeper go?" growled Ralph who was the leader of the Knights. He walked through the hallways and found a few of the squires standing near a room, inspecting something curiously.

"What have you found?" Ralph asked walking towards them. The squires jumped pathetically and pointed to two men who were on the bed, naked and rigid and the innkeeper sitting up and rubbing his head.

"They took the constables uniform and fled." The innkeeper said.

Ralph roared in rage and violently streaked out of the Inn, facing the other Knights. He saw a few men and women that were held by the Knights and he asked where the constables were being kept.

"But they left Sire. They had a felon with them." A Knight replied.

"You foolish knaves! Those were not constables! They were those imposters! Find them." Ralph bellowed. The Knights immediately mounted their horses and ran off on the Head Knights command.

Jade, Draco and Annabelle all hurried through the town, trying to make it out before it was too late. They were already out of the constable's clothes and they zipped through the crowds, bumping into people and almost knocking them down. They heard the cries of the Knights nearby and knew that they were found out so they broke into a run.

"There they are!" a Knight hollered for the rest to see them. Jade, Draco and Annabelle stopped abruptly when they saw that both back and front streets were blocked by the Knights who had ambushed them.

"We have to split up." Draco said quietly when he saw both Knights coming towards them.

"You both are finished." The Knight hissed.

"Run Jade. Run left." Draco said whispered to Jade, pushing her to the other side.

"I'm not…" Jade said, feeling her knees go weak and her eyes start to brim with tears.

Draco grabbed Annabelle's hand and fled to the right side of the street. The Knight who had gotten distracted, Jade took this chance to disappear off to the left side of the street to escape.

"Sire!" the Knight yelped, getting off the horse.

"You go after the girl, she's an easy catch. I'll get the boy." Ralph said before he ran off to find Draco.

Draco ran, cursing at Annabelle's inability to run for her life. He wanted to take Jade but knew that there was more danger in getting caught since the Knights wanted the _both_ of them. He also knew that if he left Jade alone with Annabelle, Jade would easily get caught because of Annabelle's slow running and he wasn't going to risk Jade's life for that.

They entered another street and Draco needed to let Annabelle go this time. The Knights were on his tail and he wasn't going to be stupid.

"Go run somewhere and save yourself." Draco said before leaving Annabelle to herself and running off to save himself. He turned around to see Annabelle look shocked but that shock was quickly wiped off as she ran off into another street to lead the Knights her way. Draco entered another street and was relieved not to have anyone after him anymore. He frantically searched for Jade, hoping that she'd be all right as well. In this panic and fear, Draco explicitly thought about Jade's safety. Whatever was said in the forest, near the pit of alligators, Draco didn't even mind. No matter how much she hated him or how sorry he was for it, he wanted her to be alive, well and with him.

* * *

Jade ran at full speed through a massive crowd and looked behind to see the Knight knocking into people, left and right, unable to keep up with her because of the heavy armor on him. She turned around and her eyes widened, not even fully ready to see two toddlers sitting on the ground, ready to be pounded on by her. Jade instantly jumped over them but since she wasn't ready for that unexpected jump, she landed awkwardly on her feet, causing her ankle to bend and spring in pain. Jade fell on her face and felt her palms get scratched and her ribs ache from the impact. She slowly got up to her feet and her ankle responded with excruciating pain. She looked over to see the Knight advancing towards her but she fought against the anguish of her ankle and limped off. It didn't take long for the Knight to catch up with her and when he did, he grabbed her hair and yanked her towards him.

"Caught you in the end you little sneaky rat." He sneered at Jade who tried to pry his grip off of her throbbing head.

"Let me go!" Jade cried. The Knight grinned and went to take out a dagger from his belt but someone ran over and swung a heavy pan at the Knight's face, causing him to let Jade go and stagger back.

"He's ruined my daughter's life. These men of the Queen are no good dirty pigs!" a pudgy man spat at the Knight. Jade scrambled up and went to walk away but was stopped by the man.

"Please let me go! They're after me!" Jade said hysterically. The man went to argue but he was roughly shoved by Draco who appeared from another street.

"We have to leave." Draco told her, grabbing her arm.

"But I can provide you shelter and food-"

"_NO_!" Draco said rudely. The man looked offended but Draco instead turned to Jade and went to run but she held him back.

"I sprained my ankle." She explained, seeing the frustration appear more prominent on his face.

"Now?! Why now?!" he asked taking his wand out. He whipped out his wand and performed a feather light charm on Jade and flipped her into his arms.

Ralph tore through the streets and saw one of his Knights lying on the ground and the boy running with the girl in his arms. He ran unusually fast, even with the girl in his arms. Ralph ran after them and soon, the rest of the Knights ran with him. Draco ran across the bridge and out of town but the Knights were already hot on his heels. Jade saw one of the Knights mount his horse and whip the horse to bolt towards them.

"_NO_!" Jade screamed.

The Knight swung his sword against Draco's leg, causing Draco to fall right to the ground. He let go of Jade and she fell forward on to the ground on her side. Jade felt pain shooting through her shoulder and hip as she rolled on to her back and looked to see the Knights draw their swords out to kill Draco. She went to get them to stop but she felt someone yank her hair back, getting her to stand.

"How are you going to feel seeing him being hacked into pieces?" Ralph asked Jade who screamed and wriggled frivolously.

"A pretty one aren't you? Sneaky, clever, pretty little vixen." He said grabbing her face with his hands.

"Don't you dare touch her." Draco snarled, trying to pull himself from the grips of the Knights. The Knight chuckled and nodded at another Knight who drew his sword out and pressed it against Draco's injured and bleeding leg. Draco closed his eyes tightly and endured the pain and Jade went ballistic with madness.

"Stop it! Stop it you dogs! Please tell them to stop." Jade pleaded, turning to Ralph who smirked down at her. He was a monster. He was a handsome and burly man with dark lust filled brown eyes.

"I'm afraid that he will die right before your very eyes. The Queen demands him dead. But I am a reasonable man." He said looking over her.

"I can be very generous with you." he said roughly grabbing Jade's chin.

Jade felt that nothing in her life had been kind to her. She had been disrespected and violated by men but this was nothing new at all. She had been stolen, broken, sold by other men but now she was going to sell herself. Draco was going to die if she didn't act but with a heavy heart, she looked over to Ralph and took his hand.

"And I too can be as generous as you want me to be." Jade said calmly. She started to untie her loose bodice watching the surprised expression on Ralph's face. The Knights and Draco stared in disbelief as Jade pulled down her bodice and hitched up her dress.

"Jade don't do this." Draco started.

"Keep your mouth shut and leave me alone with these men." Jade snapped at him, seeing him tilt his head and stare at her in bewilderment. The Knights let him go but Ralph was careful.

"Don't let him go just yet." Ralph said. The Knights swallowed nervously but obeyed their chief and grabbed a hold of Draco again. This wasn't going to go so smoothly unless Jade became persistent and negotiated.

"You can have me, but you have to let him go." Jade said looking at Draco and the Knights. They all looked at Draco and Jade knew she was walking on a thin line. It could go badly since these were men that had no compassion whatsoever. They could take Jade's offer and not keep their word on not killing Draco. It was the only fear that Jade had.

"We can't let him go-" Ralph went to say but Jade started to undress.

"Jade keep your dress on! Not for these pigs!" Draco spat venomously. Jade ignored him, feeling the tears start to rise in her eyes. Draco was released and the Knights advanced towards Jade.

"Leave us alone Draco." Jade said softly to Draco who stalked up towards them to protect Jade but he was grabbed and thrown back.

"If you come any closer, I'll tell them to kill you." Jade warned him threateningly, seeing him get up and persist.

"I'd rather die than have those filthy fucks put their hands on you." Draco said seeing the pleading look in her eyes. He knew that she wanted to save his life and the only way she could do it was to offer herself to these Knights, but Draco didn't want her to make such a big sacrifice for him. He had given her hell throughout most of their lives and she was giving up every bit of respect for herself to save him. Draco couldn't allow such a sacrifice to be made while he was alive and knew very well that even after they were finished with her, they'd happily go back on their word and slide their swords right through his heart.

"Please listen to me Draco." Jade said firmly but her voice was thick with nervousness and heartbreak.

"Do as I say and trust me." Jade whispered to him.

"It's a trap. She's a devil." Ralph said as Jade and Draco turned towards him. The Knights looked at Jade greedily. They wanted to undress her and indulge her to the fullest extent. They weren't concerned about their lives at all; their main interest was on Jade who had the power to control their every move like a marionettes puppet master.

"It's funny to see your chief hold you back from being men. Your beloved Sire wants me to himself and prevents you from…well." Jade said watching the Knights shift tensely and look at their chief angrily.

"I don't want you wench. You little whore!" Ralph shouted, bringing her closer.

"I'll kill you and your lover if you do not stop instigating my men against me." He whispered to Jade who gasped. She broke into sobs and Draco watched with curiosity and apprehension. It was either him or Jade and he preferred it to be him instead of Jade.

"Of course I'll lick you down there, but please don't kill me right after that!" Jade screamed.

The Knights ran full charge and furiously at Ralph who pushed Jade away and drew his sword to fight with his own men. Draco received Jade in his arms and held her tightly and protectively as the Knights were fighting with Ralph who lived up to his status as the leader of the Knights, one of the strongest and difficult men to fight with.

"We have to get out of here." Draco said to Jade who nodded.

They went to quietly walk away but saw more soldiers arriving from the town. Draco swore loudly as they had seen what happened and went straight towards Draco and Jade. Draco drew his wand out and immediately sent out the Killing curse, horrifying Jade. So it was true after all; Draco Malfoy really had learned his Dark Arts but had he been a Death Eater?

_'Does it all even matter now? We're on the same team; we're both fighting for our lives.'_ Jade thought to herself, seeing Draco bravely place himself in front of Jade and shield her from harm as he struck down all the soldiers. One by one, the Knights dropped dead but some of them managed to dodge past the curse and slam against Draco. Jade tried to fight back but failed miserably as one of the Knights backslapped her, causing her to crash onto the ground and clutch her mouth that bled profusely. Draco let out a ferocious yell and fought as hard as he could to get to Jade but had been punched back.

"Kill him! Kill him!" one of the Knights ordered.

With all the energy that Jade could muster up, she went to run towards Draco but was grabbed by a Knight who had started to choke her. The Knight who had a sword in his hand, swung at Draco who leapt back, letting him miss by just a few inches. Draco ignored the burning pain in his leg and he grabbed the Knight who had been choking Jade. With a swift motion, Draco yelled

"_Sectumsempra_!" Instantly, the man's face was severed and Draco picked up his sword and dug it through the man's armpit since he was covered in heavy armor. Blood was everywhere on the ground and even on his shirt and Jade's dress.

"Draco!" Jade screamed as one of the Knight's ran towards Draco, ready to dig the sword into him. In a blink of an eye, the Knight abruptly jerked to a stop as an arrow flew through between the dead center of his eyes. Jade gasped and turned around to see Paul standing there, lowering his bow and arrow.

"Do not fret, for Paul is here, along with your old friends who have missed you very much." Paul said revealing the rest of the gypsies who were ready for battle. Annabelle was seen along with them, smiling brilliantly at Jade and Draco.

"Men…we have donkeys to slaughter!" Paul announced.


	23. Battlefields

The gypsies roared, pumping their weapons in the air. Jade almost felt as if she were about to cry. Friends; these were real and loyal people that she had befriended that she thought she'd never see again. To see them risk their lives to defend hers truly touched her.

"Hide with Belle." Draco told her, gently pushing her towards Annabelle. Jade turned around and saw the bloody sword in his hands with blood smeared all over his shirt.

"No! You're not going there to die!" Jade said seeing him firmly take her shoulder.

"I've been a coward all my life and I ran from everything I've been scared of. I depended on others to finish up and deal with my problems but now I've got to learn to fight my own battles. Whether my life be risked or not, I'm not going to die like my father or Voldemort will." Draco said rolling up his sleeve to reveal the nothing but the pale smooth skin on his forearm. The Dark Mark wasn't there and Jade looked up at Draco admirably.

"You're not…you won't." Jade said, seeing him clench his jaw and look at her intensely.

"We'll talk…wish me good luck." He said hoping that this wasn't the last time that he would be speaking to Jade again. Even though his entire body was ready to fight and was feeling braver than he had ever counted in his life, there was this small atom-like nagging feeling that he wouldn't make it. He'd never witness her drunk again and she'd never kiss him again. He didn't want to die but he didn't want to regret not being able to kiss her for the last time if this was his end.

"Good luck." Jade said seeing him grab her waist and draw her in sharply. He placed a none too gentle kiss on her lips, hoping that she wouldn't push him back and punch him in the face; he was way too injured to add another one. Jade squeaked slightly as she kissed him, feeling her chest give off fireworks of thrill. She was too surprised for the first few seconds but when she realized that this was actually happening, she responded positively. She wrapped her arms around him, feeling him crush her into him, as if he wanted them to be one person. He tasted the blood in her mouth that was there because of the Knight who had slapped her and it further drove him to butcher whoever was responsible for it. He knew it wasn't the time to enjoy a snogging session but he couldn't help it, this was the most intoxicating snogs he had ever received from her and she wasn't even drunk! She pressed herself into him, sending him into a whirlwind of pleasure and a desire to continue but this wasn't the right time. If he didn't stop now, they'd definitely get killed and that wasn't really the future he had in mind. He broke off the kiss, seeing her still leaning in close to his face, not wanting this to stop. Draco smiled at her need for him and he dug his hand through her hair, placing a final kiss on her mouth again.

"I have to go." He whispered, seeing her hold on to him, reluctant to let him go. She wanted him as bad as he wanted her and that gave him a good feeling. It made him smile and look forward to many more things. He wasn't going to die now, not without spending a little more time with her. Jade nodded and released Draco, seeing him start to walk away slowly towards Paul and the remaining gypsies to fight his battle. Annabelle placed a hand on Jade's shoulder and stole her away as the men bravely went into battle with the Knights of Castile.

"I am so nervous Belle. Draco's never fought in his life…not that I know of but I'm sure he hasn't. He's picking up a sword and he's killing people." Jade said softly to Annabelle who helped her walk into the forest where the gypsies had dropped their belongings to attend to the battle. Annabelle sat Jade down and opened a basket that contained a jug of wine.

"I'm really not in the mood to drink." Jade said seeing Annabelle shake her head. Annabelle took a small white cloth and washed Jade's wound with the wine. Annabelle washed all of Jade's small cuts and wounds and tended to her sprained ankle. She bound Jade's ankle tightly, causing great discomfort to Jade from the applied pressure. Jade spoke to Annabelle for a while, not noticing that there was a dark figure watching them that changed from his heavy metal armor into the clothes of one of the gypsies he had killed when he followed Jade and Annabelle back to the campsite. That figure had a plan tonight and he was only going to succeed was if he blended into the community.

* * *

Jade and Annabelle heard Paul come back, carrying a wounded and unconscious Draco along with another fellow gypsy.

"We won, but Draco is not doing well." Paul said, resting him on the blanket that Annabelle spread out for him. Jade felt for a second that she had lost her mind. She didn't know any medical spells to cure Draco. She instead followed the old tradition of washing wine onto the wounds and wrapping cloth around it.

"Thank Merlin none of his bones are broken." Jade said feeling around his body for any broken bones. There was a gash across his right collarbone and Jade gently washed it and lightly pressed the cloth on his shoulder, hoping that he'd get better. Paul, along with the other gypsies had buried the few men that had lost and stripped the soldiers naked and threw them deep into the forest in hopes of something to eat them up or for them to rot. Jade busied herself to attending to the other men that were injured and thanked them for what they had done for her and Draco.

"Your honor is just as good as mine. Remember that." One of them told her smiling at her with his light green eyes.

"I will…thank you Johnny." Jade said as she finished tying up his leg that was nearly chopped off. Jade realized that she was far stronger than she ever gave herself credit for. She had seen one of the other gypsy men Alfred's leg cut off cleanly and even saw the frightening sight of meat, skin and bone hanging from his thigh.

"Sleep well Johnny." Jade said placing a blanket over him.

"Good night darling." Johnny said closing eyes. There was a hand on her shoulder and Jade turned to look at Paul who motioned his head to Jade's right.

"He's woken up and he is looking for you." Paul said seeing Jade sharply turn to see Draco moving his arm to get up. "Go on, I'll take that for you." Paul said taking the bowl of wine from her hands.

"Thank you." Jade said leaving. She ran towards Draco and saw him look pained and touch his wound on his collar bone.

"Don't touch it, you'll risk infection." Jade said feeling her heartbeat stutter when he looked at her.

"I just don't remember getting these injuries. I must have really hurt my head or not have paid attention." He said watching her sit down and wash his wounds again.

"Everyone's sleeping. Six from our side have died but the Knights are all dead." Jade said seeing him softly smile at her.

"Good to know." He said in a low voice.

Jade's face heated up quickly and she determinedly tried to keep her focus on his little cuts, hoping that he wasn't noticing her losing her mind every second. She glanced up to catch him gazing at her and he placed a hand on hers.

"I didn't mean what I said in the forest when you had gotten lost." He said seeing her face soften. She shook her head, trying to see him argue with her.

"I've forgotten that really long ago and I've forgiven you the moment where you stood up for me in front of those Knights. I don't think you meant what you said anyways." Jade said seeing him sigh in relief.

"Thank Merlin. It feels awkward to have these fights now…maybe because I'm…we're starting to…I don't know how to explain it." He said seeing her smile.

"Me either. I don't know how to explain it either without sounding stupid." Jade said seeing him chuckle and agree with her. They both sat in their silence, smiling bashfully and enjoying a pleasant and for once civilized conversation.

"Is it safe to say that we're at least friends?" he asked carefully. She looked up at him, her eyes suddenly surprised and concerned. Jade was a tad bit disappointed. They had kissed a few hours ago and he was declaring them as friends?

"Sure…yes of course." Jade said seeing him nod. They again endured another awkward and prolonged silence. Draco was worried that he had royally screwed things up. He didn't want her to think that he thought they were just friends. He wanted something more with her but didn't want to seem like a cocky bastard about it.

"We kissed twice." Jade said suddenly. Draco looked at her with his eyebrows raised; hoping that she wasn't going to stop whatever had been brewing between them for all this time.

"Mmhmm." Draco hummed, knowing that she was incorrect. They had kissed more than twice but she was technically right in her own account.

"Does that mean anything to you or was that just silly mistakes?" Jade asked seeing him shift uncomfortably.

"Er…I don't know, what does it mean to you?" he asked seeing her fold the cloth into various forms.

"I asked you first." Jade said pointedly. He grinned at her and shook his head seeing her laugh. "I'm sorry for putting you in an awkward position." Jade said, not being sincere about the apology at all. She was too caught up in trying to decode him, rather than let him play with her head and her heart. He didn't answer but only pulled her into a soft and slow kiss. Maybe this should answer whatever questions she had lying around in her head. Jade kissed him back, feeling waves of exhilaration pass through her when he kissed her like this. The last two had been urgent and aggressive but this time, they were sweet, slow and soft. He gently sucked on her tongue and traveled his hand to her waist, pulling her onto his lap. Jade accidentally touched his wound and she jumped, hearing him suck his breath in sharply.

"I'm sorry!" Jade said reaching for the cloth again but Draco stopped her.

"I'm an idiot. You keep distracting me from myself Harper…not good." He said taking out his wand, mocking her lightly. Jade scowled at him and watched him perform a healing spell to cure his wound.

"You know your Healing spells. Did you want to pursue a career as a Healer?" Jade asked watching him pause and give her a chilling look.

"You know just as well as everyone in Hogwarts what I wanted to be." Draco said his tone suddenly unplayful. She knew what he meant by that; the Dark Arts. Everyone in the school knew that Draco, along with his fellow Slytherins had already made plans to assist Voldemort after graduation. Jade started to feel uneasy, seeing him look away from her and pick away a bug that was crawling towards him.

"You have a choice you know. Being a Healer is a great thing to do. You get to help everyone you can." Jade said. Draco felt himself tense immediately and his head start to heat in anger.

"It's none of your business to tell me anything about my choices. I'm perfectly aware of them myself." He said bitterly seeing her flinch. Jade felt a little stung but knew that this wasn't her business and immediately wanted to kick herself for it.

"I'm sorry for that then." Jade said getting up.

She got up, trying to ignore the nagging pain that she had just been snubbed by someone that she had started to care about. It was Draco Malfoy out of all people; of course she was bound to get hurt. Jade sat down next to Annabelle and they both cleaned off their hands from the blood that had been dried up on their hands from working for hours on end. Annabelle motioned to ask how Draco was doing and Jade gave her a thumbs up. When Annabelle hadn't recognized what the gesture could possibly mean, Jade then had to tell her that Draco was doing fine. Jade lied down next to Annabelle, feeling exhausted from working all day and running back and forth. She closed her eyes, hearing the deep snores all around her. She heard someone or something walking near her and she immediately opened her eyes and felt it start crawling to her side.

"Don't look so scared, it's just me." Draco said lying down next to her.

"I thought it was a bloody animal or something." Jade said, calming her nerves down. Draco wrapped his arm around her and brought her close, ignoring her soft protests.

"I thought you were going to sleep with me." He said quietly in her ear. Jade turned her head to see Annabelle scoot away from them and turn her back on them, giving them privacy.

"You were angry so I came here." Jade said in a low voice. She felt him press a kiss on her lips and stroke her hands and fingers, tangling his hand with hers. Jade sighed into his mouth and heard him chuckle.

"I'm sorry for being rude." He said as she rested her head on his chest, tracing his scar on his collar bone.

"I know you are." Jade said, shivering when he placed a hand on the side of her stomach and stroked it gently. He laid her on her back and gently slid his hands up to her chest, feeling her body tremor responsively. Jade felt her heart was anxious to have him and keep him close, but she consciously believed that their relationship would never work out once they were out of Castile. Her spirits sank and she felt tears springing to her eyes as he kissed her skin softly, being patient and tender. He was never going to even look at her twice if they went back to Hogwarts. He'd be on his own and she'd be just another pathetic little wallflower like she had always been in the lives of the men she had been with. She was never going to have this chance of having someone's genuine interest in her again. Before Draco lost his interest in her and before they died or lived to go back to Hogwarts, Jade was going to go through with what they both wanted now.

Annabelle clutched the blanket to herself and tried very hard not to cry but the tears spilled anyways as she heard Draco and Jade near her, trying to be as quiet as they possibly could. Her heart had been broken once again and the angel was never hers. The angel belonged to Jade who loved him as much as Annabelle did. Annabelle had a small feeling of resentment towards Jade but she still thought that Jade was much worthy of Draco's heart. Jade had been with him first and Annabelle knew that Draco would never look at her as passionately as he looked at Jade. Annabelle heard Jade breathe Draco's name clearly and gasp softly. In return she heard Draco call Jade's name, panting heavily.

"Potter you bastard." Draco said hearing Jade sob and circle her arms around him. He held her tightly and kissed her gently. "You never deserved that. You never deserved him." He whispered, hearing her sob harder. Draco held her in his arms and waited until she fell asleep, unaware that Annabelle shook in her own grief and heartbreak.


	24. Prisoner of The Dungeons

Jade opened her eyes, feeling someone try to turn her. She saw the blue early sky and looked up to see a gypsy that she didn't recognize. She widened her eyes to scream but he quickly put a gag over her mouth and picked her up roughly from Draco who was sleeping deeply. Jade tried to scream and kick frantically but it would do no good. Everyone was sleeping soundly and the man who carried her away was very stealthy about it. Jade tried to scream from her throat as she was gagged but felt as if she'd choke from the tightly bounded gag in her mouth.

Annabelle jerked awake from hearing a gurgling cry. She lifted her head up and turned to see Draco sleeping there without Jade. She then looked to the side to see a frightening sight. One of the gypsy men was carrying a frantic and gagged Jade towards a horse. Annabelle realized that this wasn't one of the gypsies that had been traveling with them; this was an imposter. Annabelle sprung up and sprinted towards the imposter and struck her fist directly to the back of his head. He let out a strangled yell and dropped a tied up Jade to the ground and turned towards Annabelle who was prepared for whatever attack he had for her. He swung at her but Annabelle ducked but wasn't prepared for the blow on the face that he had tricked her into getting. Annabelle clutched her mouth and the man drew out a sword that obviously belonged to a Knight. He took the hilt for the sword and aimed it at her head, knocking her unconscious. Jade cried as hard as she could and screamed but couldn't wake anyone up. She saw Annabelle lying on the ground, her head suffering from an open wound.

"If you don't get on that horse and shut that face of yours, I'll cut her head right off." The man growled threateningly. Jade immediately shook her head frantically and the man grabbed her arm and hair, taking her to the horse and riding off towards the Castle of Castile.

Draco woke up by himself, seeing that Jade wasn't next to him. He furrowed his eyebrows wondering where she could have gone in the morning, maybe to the bathroom. He went to go back to sleep until he heard someone swear and start to yell. Draco sat up and turned around to see Paul crouching next to a body that was sprawled on the ground with long blonde hair. Draco got up and ran towards Paul who gently turned Annabelle over who started to stir. There was a large swell on the side of her mouth, as if she had been punched there and her hair had been stained with her blood.

"We need to give her some water." Paul said trying to lift her up.

Draco immediately picked her up and took her back to the campsite and placed her on the beds they had made on the ground to sleep at night. The other men had started to get up and watched Draco try to keep a lulling Annabelle up.

"Where's Jade?" Draco asked knowing that this had something to do with Jade. Annabelle pointed north, the route they had been taking to go to the castle. She then described with as much energy she could about Jade being kidnapped by one of the Knights that had dressed up as one of the gypsies.

"For God's sake, what in the world do they want with the poor child? Why are they after you both?" Paul asked incredulously to Draco who immediately slipped his shirt on, feeling murderous.

"They all want their death…that's what they want and they'll get it. They'll be so sorry that they ever took her from me." Draco said taking his heavy sword. Annabelle struggled to get up but Paul pushed her down to go back to sleep.

"Draco think about this calmly." Paul said to Draco who ignored him and pulled on the reins of a horse.

"You'll risk her life as well as yours! You foolish boy!" Paul said. Draco turned around and looked at him furiously.

"He took her away right under my nose. I'll kill _all _of them; even that Queen of theirs." Draco said going to leave but Paul held him back.

"You'll kill the Queen's army yourself? Draco don't think about your life but think about hers. The Queen expects you to step into her trap because she knows you'll go looking for Jade. Calm down Draco and think." Paul said placing a firm hand on his shoulder.

Draco's anger started to recede as he reveled on Paul's words. Paul was right; Draco was only going to fall into a trap if he was going to tear through the castle in a blinding rage. He calmed and sat down with Paul sitting right next to him.

"We're going to get her back. I promise you we will, but we're going to have to be clever about it." Paul explained to Draco who looked at him in befuddlement. "I have an idea." Paul promised.

* * *

Jade was scared out of her mind. The horse that she was on had been galloping at full speed, jumping over roots and swerving dangerously. At every second, Jade felt as if she was going to be thrown off from the horse. The man that sat behind her had said nothing, never taunted her, not a word. He held the reigns, riding the horse through the forest, using his arms as bars for her so she wouldn't fall. The trees thinned out and Jade saw the Castle of Castile approaching. It was an enormous white castle and Jade dreaded to go.

Once the horse had ridden out of the forest, it paused on top of the hill to overlook the castle and the river and plains surrounding it. The castle was beautiful and angular except for the towers that were narrow and circular standing tall. She heard trumpets playing from the Castle and immediately assumed that it was to notify the people of the castle that Jade and her kidnapper had arrived. The man whipped his horse with a crack and the horse jumped and ripped through its path, running down the hill and running towards the castle. Jade watched with wide and panicked eyes as the drawbridge of the castle started to lower itself to allow them in. She saw people running out of the castle, watching Jade observantly. The royal guards appeared and Jade wanted to turn and run. The concept of setting foot in this castle gave Jade a horrible feeling, as if this was her doom.

When the drawbridge had set on the ground, the horse trotted through it and Jade looked at the water dyke that was full of hissing crocodiles that looked as if they would have done anything to jump right up to her and rip her apart. As soon as the horse had reached the grounds of the castle, the drawbridge had already started closing. The man swung his leg off of the horse and jumped off. He turned around and pulled Jade down along and roughly placed her on the ground as they heard another set of people arriving.

"Make way for the Queen!" a clear and loud voice ordered.

The servants moved aside and Jade saw a figure approaching from inside of the castle. Slowly and steadily with a large velvet red gown and cape with a plush golden and bejeweled crown on her head, the Queen appeared. She was an old woman with pure white hair and piercing ice blue eyes. Her skin was rather pale and spotty and for an old woman, she carried a scornful look when she saw Jade but there was a slight satisfaction in her eyes. She had been waiting so long for this and Jade could almost _feel_ her violent death come about.

"Bow before the Queen you insolent little girl!" the man said sharply, shoving Jade down to the ground.

Jade immediately fought against him and growled with the gag still tightly around her mouth, preventing her from speaking. She made it clear that she wasn't going to be bowing down before no one and that she'd rather die than have to oblige to her own enemy.

"How dare you-" the man started but the Queen held up her hand.

"This shall not be repeated." Her voice rang authoritatively.

"She knows just what her fate is and especially what will become of the boy as well." The Queen said as Jade started to act up.

Jade wanted to tell her all sorts of rude and crude things and especially not to think about laying a hand on Draco. The man pushed her face down to the ground and applied pressure until the Queen ordered him to let go of her.

"She will bring the boy. There is no use of killing her now. Throw her in the dungeons." She said finally.

The Queen turned around and left as the others trailed behind her, not daring to look at her face. Jade was again manhandled to her feet and dragged involuntarily to the dungeons. The guards opened a door to a dark and extremely pungent cellar where they chained her hands and feet against the walls. The cellar smelled of piss and there was another thing that Jade couldn't absolutely stand, the fest of rats, roaches and others crawling around all over Jade. Jade screamed as hard as she could with the gag in her mouth, shaking and jerking vigorously to take the rats and roaches off of her. She cried as the guards laughed at her and hoped that Draco would never come to suffer the same fate that she was having right now.


	25. Henry of Castile

Draco waited in one of the caravans that had been pulled by two horses. The entire town had come along with them, not to save Jade but under the impression that they were going to entertain the Queen and bring gifts for her. The gypsies had all used this opportunity to hide inside of the caravans and go along with Draco to save Jade. They needed to be disguised like the others and blend in so as not to get caught; especially Draco. Draco heard the men and women of the towns singing loudly and making music with their instruments to keep the atmosphere in high spirits.

Draco didn't think the Queen deserved at all to have the attention and good hearts of the people that were earnest to meet her and shower her with their hard earned crops and tendered meat. That woman was a coldhearted and selfish kidnapping murderer. Draco clenched the handle of his sword tightly as he thought about what Jade might be going through right now or maybe she might not even be alive. He wanted so badly to go into the castle and violently push his sword into the Queen's heart. Even if Jade were alive or dead, Draco swore that he'd hurt the person responsible for Jade's kidnapping. The caravan stopped and everyone quieted to hear the voices outside.

"And what's this? The market comes to the Castle?" one of the royal guards asked hitting one of the caravans.

"Yes and we'd like to come in for her Majesty." Someone in the other wagons had said.

Draco sat and waited anxiously. If they said no, he'd jump out of the caravan right now without anyone restraining him to stay.

"The Queen is never pleased with unexpected visitors." The guard said.

Draco smirked; he knew all too well how much the Queen didn't like unexpected visitors, she was holding one of them in her castle somewhere.

"But we've bought singers, dancers, whores for her guards, foods and other entertainment!" Draco heard a woman say. He looked around the entire caravan and saw the other gypsies that were dressed up as women. He would have thought it was funny if he wasn't thinking about Jade all the time. Annabelle sat next to him, feeling more anxious than he was. She was going to risk being killed because she had been assisting them ever since she had met them. She saved Jade from being caught by one of the guards and even saved their lives in many ways. If it weren't for her, Draco too would have been with Jade in the Queen's grasp.

* * *

  
"Your Majesty." the royal guard announced, walking into the throne room where the Queen sat in her throne room. He bowed his head, looking at the floor, not daring to look at the Queen.

"Speak." The Queen snapped coldly.

"Your Majesty, a flock of townspeople have arrived in your honor. They seek your permission to allow them to be invited. " The guard said. He didn't see the cold smirk forming on her lips and was surprised when she had said

"Bring them in with wide and open arms."

* * *

The caravan moved and everyone cheered that they had been allowed into the castle. They had entered the grounds of the castle and stopped their caravans on castle grounds to make their tents and set their booths up. Draco stepped out of the caravan himself and pulled his cap lower to not attract the attention of any of the guards with his platinum blonde hair. His face was dirty and almost unrecognizable and his brown painter's outfit was covered in colors and dye that he had taken from the other artists that were also present in one of the many caravans that came along.

Annabelle also stepped out in the clothes that she had came with and looked around with Draco to see the vast amounts of people that had come with them. It was like a marketplace where people unfolded their belongings and got ready for the Queen. So far none of the Queens men had recognized them and they weren't going to with all of these people.

Draco waited until the night had fallen. He was going to wait and rescue Jade at the time that was most convenient. Everyone was sleeping and the guards had stood next to the gate, nodding off into sleep. Draco looked up to see Paul signal the women that he had met in the whorehouses just a few hours before the battle had taken place. The women got out of their caravans and quietly walked away to divert the guards attention. Draco needed this precious time to slip into the castle with Annabelle, find Jade and take the Portkey back to Hogwarts. Draco watched the women flirt with the guards, getting them to drop their weapons and lean against the wall, grinning devilishly. He saw the ladies take the three guards that had been guarding the entrance of the castle and take them away into one of the tents nearby.

"Go! Now." Paul hissed, pushing Draco and Annabelle lightly.

Two other gypsies who were completely identical twins went with them, dressed up as women but completely armed and dangerous. They slipped into the castle and tiptoed their way towards the dungeons. Draco felt somewhat nervous. Something didn't seem right. The entire castle was abandoned and easily present for him to take Jade away. Why did he feel as if this calm and suspicious castle was going to completely ruin everything he had?

Annabelle took his arm and quickly led through the long corridors that were adorned with tapestries, armors and other important pieces of the castle. They approached a spiraling staircase that was narrow and was lit up with the torches on the walls. Even though the torches were burning with fire, the walls were clammy and cold from the heavy looking bricks of the staircases and the entire castle. There was an eerie feeling about it, and was nothing like Hogwarts which felt much safer, warmer and much like a home. Annabelle cautiously entered and Draco seemed confused. Weren't the dungeons at the very bottom of the castle? Why was it all the way in the towers? They heard a few voices up there and they all had froze. Draco listened intently, knowing that they were coming from where they were approaching but they seemed far away.

"We can't stand around here. We're bound to get caught." One of the gypsies whispered.

Draco, Annabelle and the other two gypsies stealthily ascended the steps and saw two guards standing in front of a dark and bolted doorway. Annabelle turned back to Draco and gestures that Jade was in there, locked up like the Queens prisoners.

"So how are we going to get to her? They probably have the keys." Draco said seeing Annabelle nod.

"Well mate, that is why we are here." One of the gypsies said. They both grinned and Draco looked at them and oddly remembered the Weasley twins in Hogwarts.

"Good luck." Draco said seeing them give him a nod. They both left and Draco and Annabelle watched them walk with their long gowns and tightened bodices, revealing their low cut tops. They wore wigs and painted their faces to resemble women but Draco and Annabelle knew that they were much more threatening than that.

"Yoo hoo." One of them said getting the guards attention.

"Just what in the name of God are you both doing here?" the guard asked, his grip tightening on his club. Draco saw one of the gypsies place a hand on the guards arm and noted that the guard looked puzzled and stunned that a woman had the nerve to actually touch him.

"What a strong, strong arm." The gypsy said tracing his finger with the guard's arm. The second guard that watched his friend being stroked by what looked like a whore gulped and stared at them with fascination.

"Everyone said you both had to stay here while the others went around and enjoyed downstairs…didn't they?" the other gypsy asked walking up to the second guard.

Draco looked at Annabelle who looked like she was dying in laughter. He didn't have the time to laugh, Jade was inside and he needed to get her out! While the gypsies were successfully coaxing the guards away, Draco and Annabelle waited patiently until they were out of sight so they could make the move to save Jade. Suddenly, the armor next to Annabelle was knocked down and both Draco and Annabelle jumped at the sound of heavy metal falling into pieces on the stone ground. Annabelle looked highly apologetic since it was her who knocked the armor down while she was laughing at the sight that the gypsies and the guards had displayed. Now, all traces of laughter were gone and were replaced by fear and horror as the guards started to shout and come after them.

"INTRUDERS! ALERT THE QUEEN AND THE MEN AT ARMS!" the guards hollered, making a swing at Draco who leapt out of the way of the guards who flew down the stairs.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Draco shouted to the one below. Draco turned and was almost met with a fatal blow but the gypsy had intervened and knocked the heel of his dagger to the back of the guards head, resulting the guard to fall unconscious and bleeding.

"Go on and save Jade! We will take care of these dung sacks!" the gypsy assured Draco who was grateful for their help and took the keys from their hands and running off to save Jade.

Annabelle was with him as Draco fumbled to understand which key could open the locks of the dungeon door. Annabelle patted his shoulder and he turned around, seeing her allow herself. She took the keys from him and with swift movements; she unlocked the door and opened it with a shove. Draco nearly vomited when the door had opened. It was dark and he couldn't see anything but he could definitely smell the bad odor of urine and rotting death.

"Jade?" Draco said through his nearly strangled voice.

He heard chains moving and rats squeaking but he couldn't hear Jade's voice. The dungeon was extremely cold and there was just a tiny sliver of moonlight that made its way across the moon, hitting only Jade's leg. Draco ran towards Jade, seeing her look drained from the power and energy she had left in her.

"What did they do to you?" Draco asked lifting her head up, seeing her try hard to concentrate on him. Jade was feeling nauseous and starving. She had gone two days without food and really didn't even mind eating rats, as long as she had something in her system to keep her alive. The smell of the dungeons had kept her hunger at bay but not for long. Now Draco was trying to speak to her but she could hear them in a muff, nothing was clear to her, not even his face. She felt her wrists go free which were raw and numb from the tightened shackles on the walls.

"Can you stand up?" Draco asked Jade who looked like she was in absolutely no shape to walk or even breathe. He picked her up and carried her away into the hallway from the dungeon, seeing her face entirely pale and sickly looking. Annabelle grabbed his arm and Draco looked at her, seeing Annabelle look forward with a terrified expression. She instantly bowed down.

"My, my what do we have here?" a vicious voice asked behind Draco. "And you thought you would have taken my prisoner away from-" the Queen abruptly stopped, her face faltering when she saw Draco turn and meet eyes with her.

Draco waited anxiously. He dreaded this moment and knew all too well that he was going to fail. There wasn't a foolproof plan to take each other away, now they were dead for sure. He waited for the Queen to order her guards to lock him and Jade up for death but was surprised seeing her face look oddly…tender. What was wrong with her?

"Henry? You've finally come back for me?" she asked, her voice breaking. Draco stood there in confusion and anger. Just what on earth did she think she was playing at?

"Henry?" Draco spat.

"Oh Henry! I have played with your life and almost lost you again! You are alive! You've come back to me from the other world!" the Queen said walking up towards him. She stretched her hand out to touch his face but he stepped back, tempestuously.

"Don't you dare try to touch me." He hissed, seeing her eyes well up in tears.

"Henry please come back to me. It is me, Castile! Your Castile! You've come back to me after so long." She said desperately.

Draco was absolutely confused and horrified. The old Queen was mistaking him of a man named Henry who she seemed to still be in love with.

"I'm Draco, not Henry-"

"You are Henry! My Henry! I will not let you go back with the Portkey, especially with her." The Queen almost shrilled, pointing to Jade. She looked down to Jade who let a small groan escape and looked as if she were going to rip her off of Draco's arms and throw her out of the tower.

"She is nothing to you." The Queen hissed. Draco narrowed his eyes at her.

"And neither are you anything to me." He said just as horribly. The Queen clenched her jaw and gave him a cold glare.

"No…you will stay here with me…you will stay with me unless she dies." The Queen said pointing to Jade who was starting to feel heavy in Draco's arms.

Draco blinked at the Queen, unable to catch what the Queen had told him.

"I do not need the Portkey Henry. I only wanted the Portkey to have you back. Now that you are here, back again, I will not have any use for it." She said.

Draco didn't want to be stuck in a rut where he had to stay because the Queen thought of him as one of her long lost loves that ran away from her, even though Draco didn't blame the poor bloke.

"You will stay with me Henry. I know you will." The Queen said with cool confidence that Draco found threatening.

"How do you know that I'll stay with you? What makes you so sure about that?" Draco asked abrasively.

The Queen glanced down to Jade and a wrinkled smirk came over her face.

"Trust me…you will stay."

* * *

Jade woke up to Annabelle who gently fed her, along with another woman who held her up, gently opening her mouth. Annabelle watched Jade with a heavy heart, feeding her, seeing Jade come around but still weak as ever.

"Poor creature. She needs a lot of sleep and water." Annabelle's mother said stroking Jade's head softly. Annabelle set the plate down and helped her mother take Jade to wash.

While Annabelle gently poured water and cleaned Jade with a washcloth, she couldn't help but think how devastated Jade would be when she would wake up to find that the Queen had taken Draco away from her. Annabelle wanted to cry for herself and Jade. She thought about the very first time she heard Draco and Jade together a few nights ago, but could Jade ever endure even thinking about the Queen of Castile and Draco together, sharing a bed? Jade was now what Annabelle and her mother was…a servant of the castle of Castile.


	26. The King and The Servant

**Last update for tonight! Shocking this chapter, isn't it? X]**

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* * *

  
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Jade woke up in the morning, feeling much better than two days ago. Her wrists weren't in chains but were free and red and swollen.

"Breakfast?" a voice asked.

Jade jumped and turned to see a large woman that resembled much like Molly Weasley, but only with blonde hair and light freckles.

"Where am I?" Jade asked her, looking around. This place appeared to be a small room with an oil lamp nearby and beds of straw.

"This is where we servants sleep. How are you feeling?" the woman asked. Annabelle walked in with a plate full of food and Jade scrambled up, only too delighted to see her.

"Belle!" Jade said hugging Annabelle who feebly hugged her back. Jade let go of Annabelle and felt an unpleasant rush through her head, blinding her for a moment. Annabelle caught her arms and placed her back onto the bed of straw and handed Jade a cup of wine.

"How did you find me? Where's Draco?" Jade asked Annabelle who couldn't hide the concern and fear in her eyes. Jade touched Annabelle's hand wondering why Annabelle looked as if she was on the verge of panic.

"Belle? Where's Draco?" Jade asked, the traces of happiness from seeing Annabelle leave. Something happened to Draco. Jade was now anxious and started to believe that there was something possibly very wrong. Annabelle couldn't even look her in the eye and the woman that Jade woke up to see, wrenched her hands around her apron nervously. Annabelle turned to her mother who approached them.

"You must be very hungry child. Please stop-"

"Where is he?" Jade forced through her tight voice. "If he's dead then just tell me." Jade managed to choke out.

Tears started forming in her eyes for Draco Malfoy who had been with her throughout this entire journey. She felt like a cocktail of emotions swirling inside of her, she didn't know what to feel. What was appropriate? Was it appropriate to feel the overwhelming grief that was starting to suffocate her more than any other emotion that was being evoked from her? Annabelle and the woman started shaking their heads rapidly and identically started to motion their hands back in forth to indicate Jade's statement.

"No, no, His Majesty is not dead my child. He is perfectly alive and well." The woman said. She said this without any hint of rejoice in her face. Jade looked at Annabelle whose face was heavy with tension.

"Then where is he?" Jade asked impatiently, completely oblivious to what the woman referred to Draco as. The woman squatted down to meet Jade's level and gave a resigned sigh.

"They have been married this morning." The woman said finally.

Jade sat there, her face paralyzed as she stared at the woman in front of her. Annabelle burst into a fit of tears and covered her face from hearing the news again.

"In order to keep you alive, his Majesty has agreed to marry her Majesty." The woman informed Jade who still wasn't over the shock.

They were interrupted by a loud chatter of people who entered the room. A tall and very thin beaky girl walked in with short black hair, her face covered in smudges of soot. Behind her were two other girls, younger, also thin and narrow faced, squinting down at Jade.

"Has that little snob woken up yet?" an olive skinned woman asked walking in, pushing the girls aside. She stopped in front of Jade's view and gave her a lip curling smirk.

"Slept well your royal highness?" she asked with a sickly sweetness that reminded Jade of Umbridge.

"Now, now Silvia. The girl's just woken up after-"

"A lazy one, I know. Get up!" Silvia barked to Jade who shook from the sudden bark. Silvia threw some clothing to Jade and snapped her fingers. "Change into your working clothes and get to work. The Queen won't be pleased with you sitting on your pretty little arse, crying the whole day. The King of Castile has returned and everyone is here for the celebration." Silvia told everyone who looked at Jade.

"And you; finally have decided to join us again after all?" Silvia asked Annabelle who blushed deeply. Annabelle's mother stood next to Annabelle, wrapping her arms around Annabelle's shoulder. Jade was incredibly disgusted and outraged that she was being told to wear some clothes and be expected to start working as a servant for the Queen. Jade got up and threw the clothes back at Silvia.

"Fuck yourself. If you think I'll be working under that little bitch of yours, you're in for some disappointment." Jade said ignoring the sharp gasps around her.

"How dare she?!" the tall beaky girl asked from behind Silvia.

Jade went to turn around to leave but Silvia grabbed Jade's hair and threw her against the stone wall. Annabelle leapt up with her mother but were stopped by a few other servant men who allowed Silvia to throttle Jade down. Annabelle was horrified to see Silvia mercilessly beat Jade to the ground, punching her face and body as if she were a sack of rice.

"Like the stuck up pig you are." Silvia spat in Jade's face, releasing Jade's hair by pushing her head down on the stone floor. "Your luck favors you. If you were to say or do that another time, not only would I tell the Queen to have your head flailed off, I'd have branded your face too." Silvia heaved. She turned to Annabelle's mother and Annabelle and ordered them that Jade should be ready to work before she goes to the Queen.


	27. An Old Heart

"Hold still." Annabelle's mother, Helena told Jade. Jade allowed Helena to wipe the cuts off of her face and even on her body where Silvia struck hard.

"She can get very violent if you are not careful." Helena told Jade who closed her eyes, wishing deeply that she were at home and not here. Most of the wounds were bruises around her body that were bright red and Helena could do nothing to help Jade about it. Jade didn't even have the practice of healing herself. There was nothing she could do with a broken wand. After Helena was finished helping Jade cleaning, she took her outside to fetch water with pails for laundry.

"You do not know how to fetch water from the stream?" Helena asked, surprised. Jade looked at Annabelle who placed a hand on hers.

"Were you a noblewoman before you came here?" Helena asked. Annabelle gently pulled Jade away and carried four pails with both hands.

"Give them to me." Jade said going to take two pails from Annabelle's hands but she pulled back, shaking her head.

"Why not? Belle you can't carry around my share of work." Jade said seeing Annabelle shake and walk towards the stream.

Annabelle's refusal to let Jade do any work suddenly made Jade feel like there was probably no one else that looked out for her best interests in Castile. Seeing Annabelle, such a small and skinny little girl carry four pails and fill them up with water made Jade feel incredibly guilty. She had always had a rough time ever since her father had died and when her stepmother Callista took over their entire property and assets. Jade was never this demoralized by anyone in her life. She bent down and winced at the sore muscles she had to stretch to help Annabelle who kept trying to push her away.

"If that bitch sees that I'm not doing any work, do you think she'll be merciful the next time?" Jade asked to Annabelle who only looked at Jade with remorse.

"I didn't think so either." Jade said taking the pails from Annabelle's hands. She ignored the intense and sharp pains on her back, upper body and legs. The side of her lower and upper lips were swollen and stung from a cut that Silvia made while punching her and slamming her face down to the ground. Jade lifted the heavy pails on both hands and her legs shook from the weight. Annabelle easily lifted hers and looked at Jade who was struggling and trudging with hers.

"The poor princess cannot even lift a mere set of pails?" the beaky and black haired girl sneered that Jade saw earlier. Jade looked at Annabelle who shook her head quickly and walked away to tell Jade to ignore them. Jade did just that but heard the girl and her sisters following them.

"Does the mute donkey finally have someone to play with?" she asked. Jade whipped around and dropped her pails on the floor.

"You get away from us or I will break you in half! I'll eat your heart out I swear I will." Jade said savagely, seeing the girl's face etch in horror as she quickly moved back. Her sisters let out a small yelp and Jade stared at them, wishing she had her wand right now.

"Jody we'd better go back." One of her sisters poked Jody who still stared at Jade in fear.

"I'll tell my mother on you! She'll break your head like a walnut!" Jody yelled, scrambling away. Jody's sisters stood in their place, looking at Jade who smiled nastily at them.

"My, my, what lovely children. I bet you'd be wonderful feasts for dinner." Jade said seeing them shrill and run off. Jade smirked and turned to Annabelle who stared at her wide eyed. She motioned towards the Castle and gestured an execution for Jade.

"I don't mind actually. I'd rather be dead than here." Jade sighed lifting up the pails.

Annabelle and her walked back to the Castle, where they brought back the pails of water for washing clothes. Annabelle and her mother demonstrated how to put clothes through wash. Jade learned quickly how to wash clothes but knew that washing in the Middle Ages was much more tedious than having to dump clothes in the laundry machine. Her mind ran off every second that she left it unattended. She thought so much about Draco and wondered where he was and how he became King overnight. The Queen wanted them to both be killed but somehow he managed to compensate for Jade's life by marrying the Queen? Jade roughly rubbed some sheets against a washboard and wiped the sweat off of her face with her shoulder.

To think that the Queen, that bitter old woman that could crumble to ashes by a breeze of the wind, married to a 17 year old man made Jade's body flare in irritation. She thought to herself about that night that they both consciously spent together. The small little moments between them, the kisses…there were probably more that Jade had no memory of because she was under the influence of really bad medieval ale. She thought that this would be all over _if_ they made it back to Hogwarts. Now they were both under completely different circumstances. She was so _confused._

After washing clothes, Jade helped Annabelle and Helena pin the clothes outside to dry. When they were done drying clothes, all of them went back to start washing the rooms.

"Do you think I can see Draco?" Jade whispered to Annabelle who sharply turned to Jade with wide and fearful eyes. She shook her head instantly and Jade looked around to see that they were alone in the throne room.

"I need to talk to him. We have to escape from here Belle. We both don't belong here." Jade insisted. Annabelle threw her rag on the buckets and swung her hands wildly in front of Jade, to charade death.

"It's better than not trying at all. I need to speak to Draco, Belle. _Please."_

_

* * *

  
_

Jade slipped through the long corridors of the castle with Annabelle who led her to the King and Queen's private chamber. Annabelle stopped at the end of the corridor, her hands shaking from the idea of getting caught.

"There are guards standing in the doorway." Jade told Annabelle who nodded and pulled Jade back. Annabelle then started rapidly moving her hands around, making the most ludicrous facial expressions.

"Do you know where the Portkey is at least?" Jade asked Annabelle who shook her head rapidly.

Jade gave a rough sigh and looked again towards the door that a guard stood. A loud shriek was heard along with a clatter that startled both Annabelle and Jade. They moved back into the shadows when the guard that stood in front of the King and Queen's chamber left the door unguarded to see what the fuss was about. Jade had very little time to think. What if the Queen was in there? She'd be risking her own life to speak to Draco. She suddenly saw the door open and the Queen stepped out, walking out of the room. The Queen walked right past her and Jade turned back at the door. Her heart started pounding against her chest and her mind raced too fast to stop and think. She ran. Jade bolted towards the door and slipped inside of the room, despite Annabelle's tugging and insistence. It was a lavish room, heavily decorated with reds and gold. Jade saw Draco standing next to the bed, without a shirt on, holding a tunic. He looked up and his eyes grew wide and alert to see her again.

"How could you marry her?" Jade said in a low and quiet voice, minding that the door was still open. Draco walked towards the door and shut it closed, putting a latch on it.

"You stupid idiot! You risked your life to ask me _this_?" he asked seeing her look outraged.

"Then what do you think I was here to ask you then? I wake up to hear that you married this old and dirty bint and-"

"What did they do to your face?" he asked softly, touching the swollen and cut part of her lips.

She looked at him feeling horrible that they were in such a twisted situation. The whole day she felt oddly terrible without him and now that she had seen him, she felt the most intense jubilation. As long he was alive and breathing. Jade closed her eyes, feeling him press closer against her. He bent down and kissed her gently. She felt lost again, as if there was nothing to worry about at the moment. She placed an arm around his neck, feeling him slip his hand under her tunic, exploring her soft and tight skin compared to the Queen that he bedded several moments ago. Jade broke off the kiss, knowing that they were still at risk of getting caught.

"Draco we need to talk. This isn't the time or place; we might get caught." Jade said seeing him nod. He traced over the small bump on the corner of her forehead and back down to her chin.

"We have to take the Portkey back to Hogwarts Draco. Otherwise we…one of us will die here." Jade said seeing him look over her fondly. She wanted so badly to stay with him and talk to him but knew it was entirely impossible. The door rattled and Jade and Draco both snapped around, hearing the Queen Castile trying to open it.

"Go through the window, which would take you to the gardens. I'll meet you there." He said letting her go to open the windows and slip out. Draco turned back to the door and opened it to see Castile standing there, with an arched eyebrow.

"I was changing." Draco attempted to explain. He hated the woman who stood in front of him. She walked up to him and placed a hand on his cheek, tempting him to break it off and twist her neck around.

"You are forgetting that you are now my husband. You should not be ashamed to change in front of me…I am after all, your wife." She said bringing herself closer.

Draco clenched his jaw, feeling incredibly frustrated by the old woman's behavior. She was not his wife. She was his wife only by Castile's law and nothing else. Draco wanted so badly to push her away and kill her instantly but he knew that the only reason why he was doing this was to keep Jade alive and keep their chances to make it back to Hogwarts alive. He didn't know where she kept the Portkey and he certainly knew that she would never tell him, out of the fear of losing him. He still hadn't an idea of how Castile maneuvered around muggles with magic, being a Squib. He believed her to have help from someone who was a wizard or witch, but Draco could suspect no one. Castile sharply moved Draco's face with her long and wrinkly fingers and leaned herself near his ear and whispered.

"I want you to see her tonight…and I want you to break her heart or she will suffer by my wrath. You have yet to see what I am capable of." Castile whispered, retracting herself to see the murderous look in his eyes.

"It's not fair to her. She's done nothing to you."

"She is infesting my husband's mind like the witch she is! Do you dare to defend her when I have her fate on my hand? You are a powerless King, nothing more. I own and rule this land and you cannot do anything to change it, not even her fate. If I accuse her of witchcraft, she will be burned at the stake…do you hear me?" Castile asked threateningly. She reached over to his pockets and pulled out the wand. She elegantly traced it over with her aged and brittle hands. She wrapped her fingers around the wand and with one swift move, Castile broke Draco's wand entirely half. The wooden wand died with red sparks shooting from the tip and died down.

"You are never to leave me again and you definitely will not find that Portkey. As for that witch…she is not too far away from being accused and burned alive." Castile said. She watched Draco with contempt, who was put back into his place.

He was entirely vulnerable again and he didn't like that feeling. He didn't want to be a prisoner of a woman…both in this case. Because of Jade, he married Castile and now Castile was threatening to kill Jade and entrap his entire life in the land of Castile. Was Harper really worth anything at all to him? He had nothing to owe her but why was he so weak when it came to her? Why was he, who had planned to send her away forever here, protecting her? Draco needed to revert to his old self again. He was much more focused and much stronger when he wasn't attached to other people. He needed to forget Harper and think about himself. If Castile wanted to kill Jade then so be it. He needed to get to the Portkey and get the hell out of here; Jade or not.


	28. The Animagus

Jade waited patiently in the gardens for Draco. Annabelle was absolutely terrified and at the same time delighted to see Jade come back again and once again put down when Jade told her that she'd be seeing Draco in the gardens later that night. Jade looked around, having the feeling that someone was watching her. She heard heavy but padded footsteps approaching and an outline of Draco's body appeared. The entire garden was dark but the half moon peered through the cloudless black sky. Jade stood up from the small bench that she sat on and whispered Draco's name. Draco turned around, looking somewhat angry and upset.

"What's wrong?" Jade asked seeing him grab her wrist and push her against a pillar.

"This is your entire fault Harper. Because of you I'm married to this old hag." He hissed in her face, seeing her face twist into a frown.

"Because of me? What's wrong with you Draco? What's gotten into you? What did she say to you about me?" Jade asked calmly, still watching him curiously. She was completely thrown off track because of his unpredictable outburst. She wasn't making anything easier for him to leave her. She wasn't giving him a good enough excuse.

_'You don't need an excuse to leave her. Her being a threat to your life is reason enough!'_ his conscious told him. Draco tightened his grip on her wrist, seeing her wrinkle her forehead and try to free herself from his hand.

"You're hurting me Draco." Jade said with a level head. She used her free hand to pull him off but he held on tighter.

"I don't want to see you again." He said, trying to keep her in his clutch but she kept pushing him off.

"Let me go!" Jade said gritting her teeth. He still kept a good grip on her and didn't understand why he wasn't letting her go. He didn't want her to be anywhere near him, especially in front of him, preventing him from getting back to the Portkey.

"What's wrong with you Draco? We spoke nearly an hour ago!" Jade said seeing him glare at her.

"I wasn't supposed to be here. You were the one that should have been here on your own to die. Not me." He said seeing her face smooth out with understanding.

"Are you really going back all the way to argue about that? The fact of the matter is, is that we both don't deserve to be here Draco. That's why I wanted to speak to you. We have to find the Portkey and escape from here. Castile has it hidden somewhere in this castle. Annabelle and her mother told me-"

"Are you even listening to me at all? What part of 'leave me alone' and 'I hate you' do you not understand?" he asked, watching her as if she were some kind of specie that he had never seen before. Jade was perplexed by his odd behavior. What was he on about? It was surely the Queen that demanded Draco not to see her anymore. Jade knew the Queen well enough by now. If Draco could marry the Queen for Jade's life, he could certainly stop talking to her if the Queen forbade it.

"You don't hate me. Stop lying to me and yourself." Jade said. Draco Malfoy wasn't a hard person to crack. She learned that very long ago from past experiences.

"You have no clue do you? How can you be so sure of that Harper?" Draco asked, releasing her wrist.

"For starters, you came to meet me. Otherwise you wouldn't have bothered to show up." She said seeing him look angrily embarrassed.

"That's because I was tired of fucking the old and bitter woman. I needed some fresh air." He said, glad that there wasn't enough light to betray how embarrassed he looked. Jade slightly smirk.

"Sure whatever you say. Secondly, you wouldn't have been married to her. You especially didn't have to be fucking her, as you said you were." Jade said seeing him get defensive again.

"That was to save my own life, not yours." He said seeing her nod.

"It's all right. I'll just act as if all those times you desperately tried to save me never happened. Right?" Jade asked lightly, seeing him smirk this time.

"Of course I wanted to save you. I had been holding some…needs." He said tracing his thumb across her cheek. "I promised myself to lie down with you and brag about it to Potter. At least when I get out of here alive, I'd be able to tell Potter that I fucked you and left just like he did. You know me; always have to do it better than Potter. But no matter how good _I_ am…you're one of the most useless shags I've ever had. Like a…dead fish." He said making a mouth shrug.

And apparently it wasn't hard to crack a person like Jade either.

Jade stared at him, paralyzed with shock. His words deeply gashing through whatever remains she had as a human being. Jade tried to tell herself that it wasn't him talking, it was his compulsion speaking to her; to draw her away from him for her safety but with every word he spoke, she started losing that belief. This was the second time he had completely taken her by complete shock and trauma. He pressed a kiss on her lips, not getting any type of response from her.

"Don't be like that darling. Have some passion. Fight back…you did fight back with Potter didn't you?" Draco asked mockingly, lifting up her tunic. She didn't fight back, how could she? There was absolutely nothing in her mind as he undressed her and simply nothing she could do. She stared at him, puzzled, feeling her eyes water and her throat constrict. Draco Malfoy, a man that she had fought with all of her life, someone that was never significant to her was violating her body.

Draco looked up to see her face drawn into a simple sorrow. He knew he had let her down again and as much as he was determined to seem apathetic, his heart seemed to sink deeper and drown a little faster. He tightened his arms around her waist and pushed himself against her, feeling her body go limp. Why wasn't she fighting back? He was expecting her to at least _say_ something, telling him how horrible of a person he was to bring such a delicate subject to the light. Instead Jade hung her head slightly and cried silently, the last thing that Draco needed or had to see.

"It wasn't my fault." She said her voice thick with defeat and shame. "Please don't use that against me." She shook with her breathy sobs.

Draco looked at her, holding her, seeing the heart that he broke more than he could count for. He was holding her inappropriately but she didn't seem to care or mind. After all that he had put her through and after all that he had said and accused her of, she probably lost all the self respect she had for herself. He was feeling sorry for her again. Before he started to feel himself get entirely wrapped up by her again, he shook her as hard as he could.

"Stop it." He ordered. He saw her head still hanging, trying to make him feel sorry for her. Draco tried to push her around but she stood like a dead weight, looking pathetic. He pushed her away and turned away from her, feeling torn into two clean pieces. He didn't want to feel anything for her that turned him weak.

"I don't want you anywhere near me…do you hear? If you ever try to contact me again, I won't do anything to stop Castile from killing you. _Don't_ block me from my future." He hissed. He turned around and watched her look up and nod obediently with tears still streaming down her face. His heart skipped a beat but he commanded it to stay hardened as a rock. Jade reached out to him and placed a hand on his arm, bringing herself closer.

"Once before I never see you again." She whispered, pulling him gently. Placing a kiss against his shoulder, she moved her lips to his, lingering over them before he completely crushed her lips with his.

* * *

Jade sat against the pillar, watching Draco walk away from her. This was probably the last time she was ever going to see him again. The Queen had won and Jade was going to expect the coming of her death. Draco was probably going to stay in Castile for the rest of his life until he would find the Portkey and escape but she wouldn't see Hogwarts again. Jade drew up her knees and raked her hair with her hands, looking at her lap, feeling the vein in her forehead throb. She felt her breath hitch and she quietly sobbed, feeling pity for herself. There was nothing to be proud of about her. So many people had thrown her down and the person that she was supposed to feel least bothered by had butchered her up completely. She'd never have the feeling of sleeping next to someone she cared deeply about who equally cared for her.

None of the normal and steady relationships were meant for her. Either she was going to be raped, felt sorry for and thrown away by or she was going to have one of the most complex relationships with a man she had knocked shoulders with in an unknown place via Portkey. She heard a humming nearby and lifted her head up to looked around and see where it was coming from. She heard the humming draw closer and she pulled down her tunic and reassembled herself after Draco had ravished her through. Jade stood up on her feet and went to walk away.

"You walking away will result in death." A voice clearly stated.

Jade whipped around, quickly recognizing the voice. She saw a dim lit face of a man with a short auburn beard.

"You live in another world. Of Albus and Gellert who had escaped nearly a century ago." He said stepping closer to Jade who stepped away from him.

"Who are you?" Jade asked.

She quivered as she stepped away, hoping that someone was around to see this man trying to corner her. He stepped out of the shadows and Jade started to clearly see that he was fairly old and had a stocky build to him. He was much bigger than Dumbledore with deep set lines on his forehead and eyes.

"Do you not love him?" he asked. Jade's lip twitched and she stared at him in horror. Jade looked at the man who was curiously looking over her way, inspecting her from a distance.

"You are a witch." He stated, still looking at her peculiarly. Jade stood in front of him, wondering what his point was. Was this a trap by the Queen? As far as Jade could tell, accusing a woman of witchcraft was enough to send her to the gallows or to the stake where she was 'burned alive'. Jade didn't have her wand or any potions to protect herself with right now. If witchcraft were to be accused of her, she would be just as defenseless as a muggle. "I don't know what you're talking about." Jade said, hoping to convince the man of her 'innocence.' He didn't seem pleased to be proven wrong, so he deeply furrowed his thick eyebrows and gave her an angry look.

"Who are you? What's your name? Where are you from?" Jade asked. The man crouched down and touched the grass with his palms. He looked like he was ready to pounce on Jade who couldn't describe how odd she was feeling. She took a step back; going to leave but the man snapped his head up and snarled. His face twisted and morphed into the face of a panther, a panther that Jade had seen and met before. Horror had drummed throughout her and she opened her mouth to scream but no sound came out. The panther stalked towards her, moving its tail.

"It wouldn't have done us good if you both had separately came to Castile. The Queen wanted you both right where she can have you." It said, walking around Jade who never showed her back to the creature.

"But you were against the Queen, you tried to save-no you didn't." Jade said seeing the panther purr and nod.

"In a way I saved your life…only for the Queen of course. However I have not seen this coming. I never thought that the Queen would marry one of the people that brought her Portkey back and keep you alive for all this time." He said sitting on his hind legs, inspecting Jade again.

Jade had a few questions that were lying around in her head but she could hardly answer any of them. She could only think of one reason why the Queen had kept her alive all this time, to spite Jade, but there should have been more to it than that. The Queen of Castile waited for 99 years and centuries beyond that, waiting for the Portkey to come back, all because she wanted to show off her new husband in front of Jade? Something wasn't making sense.

"Why is she keeping me alive?" Jade asked seeing the panther stand up on its legs again.

"I am as puzzled as you are about her delay. Should I just finish you or wait to see what the Queen has in store for you?" the panther asked, baring its sharp teeth. Jade watched him silently, her chest flaring from fear and pain. She had seen death flash through many times in front of her face; it was starting to lose its effect. She had nowhere to go, nothing to live for and the person that she had wanted most, gave up on her.

"I don't know…maybe you should." Jade whispered.

"What was that?" snapped the Panther. Jade looked up to the panther and spoke more clearly.

"Maybe you should kill me now." Jade said.

Instantly the panther charged at Jade who let out a shrill. Jade was expecting to be knocked down to the ground, getting clawed and having her head crushed in its mouth but she felt his human hands holding her face tightly, unwilling to have her fall.

"Do not test me child, for I might act upon your very words! How dare you ask of me this! You are no one and I am not indebted to you. My soul and loyalty belongs to the Queen of Castile! She has saved my life and have done all that she could to take care of me when I had lost my wife and children. What have you done? Why shall I pay heed to you; enemy of Castile!" He exclaimed pushing her away.

Jade fell backwards, too stunned at the Animagus transformation. There was someone in this forsaken place that held the same magical abilities as she and Draco did. This same person had a wand but Jade was quickly reminded that he wasn't too fond of her. Jade felt her ankle give a painful jerk, as if an invisible rope were tied around her leg and yanked upwards. Jade fell face forward in the air and her scream was caught in her throat. She let out a breathless yelp and thrashed her arms around to find contact with the ground again.

"Please! Please put me down!" Jade begged. The blood rushed to her head and her hair was out of her face, hanging beneath her.

"The Queen is planning something worse than I would have acted upon tonight." He said waving his hand. Jade was dropped to the ground and she sprawled to her knees. It took a moment for Jade to get her head to work effectively after being hung upside down. She looked up to see him walking away and got to her feet.

"Wait!" she called after him. He wasn't listening to her and definitely did not stop for her. He walked into the castle and Jade ran after him. She passed through the small entrance and followed him down a spiraling step with torches burning brightly on the wet walls.

"Stop one minute!" Jade growled.

She grabbed his arm and saw him swing around and hold his hands up. Jade expected him to make a swing at her and she was braced to dodge it but what she didn't expect was herself to be pinned against the wall, her face dangerously near a burning torch. There was a force that she couldn't explain, holding her against the wall, inches high from the floor. What was even more perplexing was that the man held his hands up to keep the force to put her into her place without a wand.

"You don't have a wand." Jade told him, amazed by this fact herself. His eyebrows deepened and his scowl grew even pronounced.

"I do not require a wand you foolish child! I may do anything I wish!" he barked. He moved her closer to the fire and Jade felt her hair start to curl from her side from the intense heat. The fire threatened to take a lick at her face, like a hair curler hovered dangerously close enough to her face to scald her skin.

"I'm sorry….please put me down. It was an honest question." Jade told him. It seemed that the plea wasn't strong enough to convince his unspeakable hatred towards her, but something definitely crossed his mind. He let her go and dropped her to the floor for the second time that night. He leaned close to her face and jerked her face up.

"If I ever see your face again I _will_ kill you." he whispered. He pushed her face away and walked away from her, leaving her alone on the steps.

Jade was tired. Her stay in Castile was starting to weigh down on her and the hope of going back to Hogwarts seemed too far away. The Portkey was nowhere to be found and the only person that knew was the Queen. Draco had married the Queen and decided to stay with her, leaving Jade completely by herself.


	29. Robert Builder

**Late update for tonight!**

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Annabelle woke from her sleep to find her mother already leaving the room for the morning bath. Annabelle rolled over to see Jade sitting against the wall, her shoulders hunched over as she absentmindedly toyed with a piece of straw. Annabelle felt sadness and pity for her good friend. Compared to a few days ago, Jade looked happier, determined and strong. Now, as she sat against the hard stone wall, she looked defeated, lost and weak. There used to be a spark about her that always lit up at the slightest hint of emotion but right now, things were much different and that spark was forever gone. Jade turned her face to see Annabelle sitting there, watching her and she gave her a tiny smile.

"Good morning…how was your sleep?" Jade asked.

Annabelle nodded slowly and gestured how Jade's sleep was. Jade shrugged half heartedly and she looked away again. Annabelle knew Jade didn't want to speak about it. Jade had told her that she would be meeting with Draco. From the way Jade looked, it had not gone well. Annabelle reached out and placed a hand on Jade's smooth hand which already started to crack, peel and bleed from the everyday work. Annabelle hugged Jade's hand to her chest, seeing Jade breathe in deeply, trying to hold her heart in.

"If you weren't such a good friend, I don't think I would have allowed myself to live this far." She whispered.

* * *

Annabelle carried a beam on her shoulders that held two pails of water. She was incredibly worried about Jade to have to work but saw that Jade was progressing from her first day. Annabelle had been working almost all her life and carrying pails back and forth to this day created tension in her legs and back. She understood that Jade might have been in pain but she never expressed it. Jade was unusually quiet and disinterested in small talk. The most nerve wracking experience had to be when Silvia heaved a plow straight towards Jade that nearly missed her foot.

"You'll be working under the sun all day by plowing and harrowing the fields. Get to work." Silvia snapped.

Jade answered by picking up the heavy metal plow and walking away to get on with her work. Annabelle found it sick and disgusting for Silvia to enjoy Jade's despair as she toiled under the merciless sun. Annabelle helped her mother knead bread and from time to time went off to keep an eye on Jade. Helena nudged Annabelle's hand and pointed to the jug of cider, bread and cheese.

"She must be exhausted, the poor thing. She's been working harder than I ever have." Helena said, take a glance at Jade who worked along with a few other farmers. Annabelle took a basket full of bread, cheese and cider and walked into the fields. At the sight of Annabelle with food and drink, the farmers dropped their farming tools and made a rush towards her but Jade kept working, venting her frustration out into the ground.

"Hey, Jade. Yeh can take a break around now. It's time fer us teh eat!" Oscar, a thin but strong middle aged man said to Jade who rested her plow on the ground, her chest heaving up and down. She was glistening with sweat and her clothes were seeped in sweat. Her face was bright red and dark from the work and the sun, barely recognizable from who Annabelle had met days ago. Annabelle handed Jade a cup of cider, seeing Jade gulp it immediately down and stretching the cup towards Annabelle for another drink.

Jade felt and had even seen the effects of her hard labor every day. For the first couple of days, her body felt sore and immovable but after those days had passed; her body had grown stronger against the workload that she was managing. For the past couple of weeks she hadn't seen a glimpse of Draco, the Queen or the man that she had met mysteriously that night. She had become very sheltered with herself and had turned away Annabelle with a heavy heart.

She had seen the constant worry in Annabelle's eyes whenever she'd watch Jade go on with her work but Jade hadn't said a word about it. She didn't want to give Silvia the chance to berate her and drag Annabelle in with her. Apart from getting stronger every day, Jade felt much sicker. Anything she had eaten the night before, she would throw up entirely in the middle of the night or mornings. Jade blamed it on the ale and food that she wasn't yet readily accustomed to.

* * *

Jade stopped for the third time that day. She believed there was an underlying sickness that she was suffering from. Her stomach felt heavy and her head started to feel light, two completely different feelings but one very likely outcome. Jade turned her head to the side and threw up the little breakfast that she had this morning before starting to work. The sun wasn't very much helping her either, it only intensified her nausea. The smell of fresh manure and dirt along with vomit in this type of heat caused Jade to heave up more of the contents inside her stomach. As she threw up, she hardly cared about whoever was holding her hair back. Jade rested her hands on her knees and breathed in deeply, feeling a wet and cool cloth wiping her mouth and neck.

"Are you feeling better?" the gentle voice asked.

Jade closed her eyes and sat down on the ground, feeling whoever was next to her, sit down with her as well, it was probably Oscar, bless his soul, Jade thought.

"Are you sure you should be working in the fields with the condition you're in?" Jade turned around and met with a man that she had never met or seen before. The very first thing that she noticed was the thick crop of tousled bronze colored hair. His eyes were green and sharp, that were made for the slightest attention to detail as he studied her face.

"Are you all right?" he asked. Before Jade could answer him, Oscar came jogging towards them to see what was wrong with Jade.

"Jade! This is the third time since you've fallen ill." Oscar said. He squatted down in front of her and looked her straight in the eyes.

"You work hard and I don't see the devil in your eyes." Oscar said shaking his head, still looking at Jade.

"That's all a pile of rubbish." The man next to Jade said. Oscar turned around to him and narrowed his eyes.

"And who should you be?" Oscar asked. The man held up rolls of containers that Jade had no knowledge of what it contained. They looked like cylindrical leather canisters, much like the containers that architectures used to put their plans in safe keeping.

"I go by the name of Robert Builder. Master Builder to the Queen and the new King of Castile." He said with a genuine smile that led Jade to believe that he probably was a good actor or had no idea what the Queen was made of. Oscar grumbled a few words under his breath and scratched his balding head.

"Dunno why yer here for. Anyways, would the lady like to go back inside? I don't think today's a day yeh should work. Have a look with Helena, in hopes that the Devil isn't in yeh." Oscar said picking up Jade's plow.

"I'll help you with that-" Jade said and went to get up to help carry the plow with Oscar but was barked at.

"Didn't I tell you to rest? One day won't kill yeh, Jade. Sit down with the lad, talk about birds…or whatever yeh children talk about." Oscar said walking away with Jade's plow. Jade watched him leave and turned around to see Robert looking at her curiously, smiling subtly.

"What?" Jade asked, feeling annoyed.

He was so easy to look at, so decent compared to what she had been working with for the time of her duration. Not even Hogwarts could afford handsome men like Robert was in Castile, in the bloody 1300's! Draco crossed through Jade's mind and she felt her shoulders slump with the thought of him. She had been viciously lost in her own world, plagued by almost every sight she had remembered of him, forget about the memories. It was only today that distracted her from thinking about Draco. To think she had been working herself to death was an understatement…she had been _thinking_ herself to death. Robert's long and slender hands reached out and touched her arm, jerking her back from her thoughts again. Jade gave him a halfhearted smile. She didn't know whether to thank him for being polite and helping her as she threw up or annoyed that he didn't leave yet.

"Why are you still here?" Jade asked, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Her hands along with the rags she dared to call clothes were smeared in dirt and manure. Jade had gotten over the fact that she was gardening with real fertilizer but sitting in front of the handsome man that courteously attended her made Jade self conscious about her appearance.

"Um…" Robert said, raising his eyebrows in surprise from the question. "I…don't know. Would you like me to leave?" he asked.

Jade paused. Would it be wise for him to leave now? It would be rude on her part; after all he had been there as she nearly threw her intestines up. Ultimately, her mouth made her decision for her.

"I'd like you to leave." Jade told him.

Talk about a priceless facial expression.

"Really?" he asked.

Jade didn't answer him. Instead she clamped her mouth shut and tried to look coldly at him as he narrowed his eyes at her, looking every inch of her face over with a small devilish smile playing on his lips.

"Really. What's so funny?" Jade asked. He didn't answer her; instead his smile grew more pronounced.

"You are the only woman who has turned down my company. Is this your way of flirting with me?" he asked, obviously amused by himself and Jade's pure disgust.

"Gods no! You arrogant little prick!" Jade said getting up. She walked away to the best of her abilities, without falling from the gigantic head rush that nearly made her fall over. Robert instantly scrambled to his feet, carrying his construction plans with him. He jogged behind Jade who successfully walked through the fields.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to offend you! I-"

"Watch it!" Oscar cried.

Robert looked up to see plow carriage that was pulled by two oxen had hit him from behind and sent him flying into a pile of dung that he had tried to sidestep. The oxen grunted and the men nearby laughed uproariously at the sight. Jade stopped as soon as she heard Oscar try to warn Robert. She immediately turned around and found Robert land in the pile of manure. Jade gasped and walked back to him, offering her hands to help him up.

"Are you all right?" Jade asked, seeing him look up at her with his crystal green eyes. Half of his face had fallen into the dung and Jade couldn't help but let out a small giggle as he tried to wipe it from his face.

"Let me help you there." Jade said. She grinned widely as she took out a small handkerchief from her pocket and wiped his face from the dung.

"My name is Robert, what is yours?" Robert asked holding out a clean hand.

Jade looked down to his hand and back into his eyes. If anyone in their right mind had been in this dilemma, they'd get up, get cleaned and never be seen there ever again. However, it seemed Robert was quite comfortable there, much to Oscar and the oxen's dissatisfaction. Jade smiled at Robert and placed a hand on his, feeling his fingers curl around her hand.

"My name is Jade."


	30. Bloodletting

The day after, Jade had attempted to get back to work. Oscar gave her a simple task of planting seeds into the ground but it seemed that Jade couldn't do it.

"I don't know what's wrong with me Oscar, honest to God." Jade said. Oscar grabbed Jade's face and inspected her closely. Jade had a feeling she already knew what he was going to say.

"I say the Devil's in yer. I told yeh to get yerself checked! Did yeh tell Helena?" Oscar asked Jade who shook her head. Oscar narrowed his eyes at her and went to scold Jade again.

"Well that's what we get for having a woman tend the fields. She needs to find another thing to do in the castle." One of the field workers said. Jade shook her head at him. She loved working in the fields. She hated Castile entirely, but working in the fields meant that she didn't have to worry about running into Draco, Castile or that lunatic that she had met the other night. She wondered if there were more of him that she hadn't met yet.

"He's right yeh know." Oscar said seeing Jade widen her eyes. "If yer getting sick every day working here, yeh might as well find something else to do Jade." Oscar said.

"Aw Oscar. You know I like working here. I don't want to go back to the castle. Silvia's in there." Jade whispered to him. Oscar broke into a hilarious fit and clapped Jade's shoulder.

"Now I feel for yeh. All right, you can work in the fields, but as long as you promise to get yourself to Helena and clean yer blood." Oscar said. Jade furrowed her eyebrows and nodded.

"Er…of course. I will." She said, not understanding what Oscar meant by cleaning her blood.

Jade walked away from Oscar. She pulled down her hair and fanned herself from the warm weather. She approached the castle doors and noted that there were builders and carpenters working nearby and hoisting up ropes on the roofs of the castles. She was going to leave to see Helena, since there was nothing in watching all these bearded men in tunics, sweating profusely as they worked on improving the castle's beauty. Jade's eye caught a beautiful stone carving of a face which Jade could immediately recognize. Jade bent down and looked over the face and traced her fingers from the cool hardened eyes. Those eyes had shown her thousands of emotions, for as long as she knew him, but in this carving, it looked just as it was the way she last saw him; apathetic. Jade swallowed and looked at the rest of his face, his jaw fixed stiffly, really making him a fitting King.

"That cost me hours." A voice said behind her. Jade jumped up, startled by Robert's sudden appearance.

"I'm sorry…I was, I didn't mean to. I just saw it lying there and I came to have a look at it." Jade said feeling her cheeks heat rapidly. Robert only smiled politely and waved his hand around.

"My lady, you are welcome to look around. Just do not try to help, everything here is a man's job." He said. Jade cocked her head to the side and crossed her arms.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Jade asked. Robert shrugged, still grinning.

"Robert! How long do we wait for the mortar to set?" a man asked.

"Give it a few days. Do not disrupt the mortar as the stones set in, otherwise in less than 10 years, there will be weakness within the walls and they'll break down. The King and Queen will be displeased." Robert said.

"If she'll live long enough for the wall to break, but I'll remind myself later to mess with the stones as much as I can later." Jade said loud enough for only Robert to hear, who had turned around and raised his eyebrows.

"You don't seem too pleased with the Queen." He stated. Jade rolled her eyes and walked away from him.

"That's never a surprise." Jade said. She entered the open hallways of the castle, hearing Robert beside her.

"Why? Why don't you like her? She has been nurturing our country-"

Jade whipped around, furious beyond belief at someone trying to advocate for the person who had ruined her life.

"Don't you _dare_ try to lecture me about her. I don't want to talk to you. I never want to see you again." Jade spat.

Robert stared at her, his eyes wide with shock and his mouth hanging slightly. Jade turned around and disappeared into the castle, leaving Robert to think about what had just occurred. Jade quickly walked down the hallways of the castle, avoiding any type of attention that would be called upon her. She was living in a castle where a vile woman had taken Draco away after expressing her interest in having them murdered. Jade was helpless under Castile and didn't need someone to shove Castile's all too fake traits down her throat.

Jade entered the room where Annabelle and her shared for sleep. Annabelle had been looking out the window, gazing down at the builders below, braiding her hair and smiling softly.

"They're all a bunch of gits." Jade grumbled, taking a seat on the hay covered floor.

She had gotten used to the hay and the cold and damp floor that smelled like stale urine and dirty water. Annabelle shot around and smiled pleasantly at Jade's appearance. Jade hadn't seen or spoken to Annabelle in a very long time. Every day she would go outside to work, ate with the men and immediately went to sleep for the next day. Annabelle threw her arms around Jade and hugged her tightly. Jade sighed and hugged her back, patting her shoulder.

"I know…I had missed you too." Jade said.

Annabelle pulled back and smiled, tears already starting to fall down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them and giggled, clearly glad that Jade was finally back.

"How have you been all these days?" Jade asked Annabelle who nodded quickly. Annabelle motioned the work that she had been occupied with for the past couple of days and in turn, Jade told her about the heavy fieldwork she had been a part of all this time. Annabelle circled her own face and pointed to Jade. Jade placed a hand on her own face, trying to understand what Annabelle was trying to tell her.

"What is it? What's on my face?" Jade asked. Annabelle gave Jade a small pout and shook her head slowly. It took a while for Jade to register what Annabelle had been trying to say. Jade smiled sadly and shrugged.

"I look like Lucifer's cat don't I?" Jade asked. Annabelle didn't seem to get the joke but Jade waved it off.

"I know. I don't even have a mirror around me anymore, not that I'd like to see how I've been looking for the past few weeks…who cares?" Jade asked.

They sat together in silence, listening to the occasional yells and demands of the builders nearby. Annabelle walked towards the window and peered below, her eyes fixed on the men that were working below. She waved towards Jade to come and see, her eyes glued to the men. With a gruff, Jade got up and walked towards Annabelle and the window and looked over. There were probably fifty men, all looking alike as they lifted, cut, set mortar in.

"What?" Jade asked.

Annabelle pointed out a man with fiery red hair and beard, hoisting a heavy bag on his back.

"The redhead?" Jade asked seeing Annabelle nod and giggle. Jade smiled, looking at Annabelle who blushed.

"Have you spoken to him?" Jade asked.

Annabelle looked as if she couldn't contain her excitement any longer. She let out a soft giggle and slapped her hands on her face, covering her embarrassment.

"Belle! You either _really_ like him or you've been speaking to him! You're speaking to him?" Jade asked.

Annabelle nodded, grinning widely. Annabelle gestured out enough to tell Jade that they had been seeing each other for a week. Jade needed to see for herself if the man that Annabelle liked was equally as sweet and trusting as Annabelle thought he would be. The idea of having someone trample and hurt Annabelle made Jade sick to her stomach. She never wanted Annabelle to go through such heartbreak. Jade rested her head against the stone wall as she gazed through the window.

Robert had been sitting next to Annabelle's redhead and the two spoke to each other, pointing to the walls, obviously discussing their plans. She watched Robert mark out proportions on the floor and explain them to Annabelle's redhead. Robert then pointed towards their side of the wall, talking about construction but the Annabelle's redhead was suddenly distracted by Annabelle's face. He threw up his hands, dropping his parchments on the floor and waved vigorously towards Annabelle who laughed and waved back at him. Jade giggled slightly and had to hold Annabelle back from leaning too forward out of the window.

"Peter! _Focus_!" Robert yelled.

Peter stopped waving but smiled goofily at Annabelle, reminding Jade of Ron Weasley. Robert placed a hand on Peter's shoulder and looked up towards Jade and Annabelle.

"I'm going downstairs to help Helena with tonight's supper." Jade told Annabelle without looking back at Robert. Jade went to leave but saw Annabelle still staring at the ground below, waving lightly at Peter who kept smiling back.

"Annabelle! I'm going to help Helena with supper!" Jade repeated. Annabelle clicked her teeth and flapped her arm towards Jade, indicating that she had heard the first time. Jade shook her head and walked over, pulling Annabelle by the arm.

"If I leave, I'll come back to see that you've fallen out of the window and to the ground. We don't want Peter to see that now do we?" Jade asked pulling her out of the room. They walked down a corridor and down the stairs, meeting with Jody who had been flirting with one of the builders.

"I bet my shillings that you'd clean up faster than any woman I'll ever meet." The man said, grinning evilly. Jade and Annabelle exchanged looks of revulsion and nearly cracked up in fits of laughter.

"Oh I can do more than cleaning up. You can bet your shillings on that." Jody said, giving him a devious smile. It wasn't a surprise to both Jade and Annabelle that Jody had been this experienced for her age, but they were certainly surprised that she hadn't gotten pregnant yet. They walked away as quickly and quietly as they could and reached the kitchens to see Silvia, Helena and a few other women working on supper.

"Hello girls! Finally decided to drop by today?" Helena asked smiling at both Jade and Annabelle. Silvia handed out platters to the servers for Draco and Castile and watched them all leave. Helena scooped out food from the pot and handed two bowls to Annabelle and Jade.

"Eat up and go straight to bed!" she said.

Jade took the bowl from Helena and sat in a corner, eating with Annabelle. Realizing that she had been hungry for some time, Jade ate more of the porridge and asked Helena for more.

"This isn't your castle you little bitch." Silvia said.

If Jade had been sane, she would have left without another word to avoid any past mistakes. But right now, Jade felt an unexplainable and seething hatred for Silvia. Her mouth itched terribly to say something horrible towards her and she was ready enough to fight if Silvia wanted to pummel her again. Jade had been breaking her back for the past few weeks under the hot son and she was going to be denied another portion of food that Helena and the other women would have no problem serving?

"Helena I want another bowl of porridge."Jade repeated. Helena looked scared to death while Silvia watched with astonishment.

"Are you _deaf_?" Silvia hissed.

"I wish I was so I wouldn't have to be listening anything coming out of your fat mouth." Jade snapped.

Silvia threw her spoon against a wall and went to charge for Jade. Jade was ready. She lifted her bowl to chuck it straight into Silvia's face but was held back by Annabelle and blocked by Oscar who stepped in Silvia's way.

"I'll cut your tongue out you _whore_!" Silvia roared. Oscar struggled to hold her down and barked at her to shut up.

"Don't touch her! Yeh hurt her before and if yeh touch a hair on her head, I'll plow right through yeh with me oxen!" Oscar threatened. He had subdued Silvia, but that wasn't promising enough to have her charging towards Jade again. Oscar pulled Silvia out of the room and closed the door behind him. He turned around and pointed at Jade.

"I think the Devil's in yeh! Didn't I tell yeh to get yerself checked with Helena?" Oscar asked Jade who burned brightly.

"The Devil? What's…?" Helena asked looking at Jade.

"She's been sick for a few days in the mornings. But she keeps wanting to work. I told her that something's not right, that she needs to get herself checked but she never comes to yeh. Helena yeh tell me right here and now if the Devil's filched her soul!" Oscar said wringing his hand towards Jade.

"There's nothing wrong with me! I don't have the Devil in me, it's all rubbish! I've just been getting sick that's all and it'll pass. It passes for everyone doesn't it?" Jade asked. Helena hobbled over towards Jade and grabbed her arm.

"This sickness…doesn't sound right. For a young, unmarried woman like you, you shouldn't be getting sick." Helena said tying a cloth above Jade's elbow. She slipped out a sharp metal looking device that made Jade nervous.

"Helena…what are you going to do with that?" Jade asked. She wished she didn't have to ask. Oscar walked over and held Jade's shoulders and Jade decided that whatever was going to happen next, she was not going to like it at all. Helena jammed the sharp metal through the vein on her forearm and allowed the gush of blood to pour into the bowl. Jade screamed and howled, shouting every profane word that had existed in her brain.

"What are you doing?!" Jade screamed. Helena held Jade's arm down as the blood ran freely into the bowl, filling it up quickly.

"Cleansing your body and soul. This is called bloodletting Jade. It gets rid of the dirty spirit that dwells within you." Helena said. Jade twisted in her place, only to be held down tighter by Oscar.

"Are you fucking _stupid_? This is all bullshit! There's no such thing as dirty spirits! They're called bacteria and viruses! Bloodletting is not the cure; I need some fucking antibodies or potions-"

"What is she saying? I do not understand her language!" Helena said.

"The Devil's trying hard to stay in her. We won't let these spirits stay in for long. We need to draw out more blood." Oscar told Helena.

"For cripes sake! I want to go back to Hogwarts! I need to see Dumbledore!" Jade screamed, feeling her head feel dangerously faint.

"The Devil speaks a strange language." Oscar said. Jade's head rocked back and she felt her eyes close as her body fell weak.

* * *

Jade felt herself wake up from her sleep but her eyes were shut closed. She had absolutely no strength left in her body to even open her eyelids. She tried to move but felt a throbbing and bruising pain on her arm, the very arm where Helena stuck the narrow silver pipe through her vein. A rush of warm water passed through her hair and scalp, following behind it, a gentle hand caressing her head.

"I believe she has woken up. Jade…Jade dear, open your eyes." Helena called. Jade wanted to tell her to shut up and stay away from her. Helena and Oscar, in her opinion were absolutely out of their minds. Jade felt Annabelle touching her shoulder gently, shaking it.

"Ow." Jade croaked.

"Whaddyawant?" Jade mumbled.

"It's all right Jade. You can have your rest; you'll need it when you wake up to know what's happened to you." Helena said.

Jade knew exactly well what they thought was wrong with her and she didn't even try to seem interested in knowing. She needed her good sleep before Helena and Oscar dogged behind her, telling her that evil spirits and the Devil himself danced inside of her.

* * *

Annabelle watched Jade sleeping soundly. Her face was pale, even though the sun had darkened her skin slightly. Annabelle wept silently, tracing her finger up and down Jade's hand, her eyes fleeting towards Jade's stomach at every second.

A child was in there and Jade never told her about it at all. Jade probably didn't even know she was pregnant, but if she knew, she was probably the most foolish mothers in the world, going off to work from daybreak to dusk in such backbreaking fielding. While Helena put Jade to sleep, she spoke to Oscar about her 'mysterious illnesses'. It didn't take Helena to understand that Jade was going through a normal phase in every mother's life; pregnancy. Helena told Oscar and Annabelle that Jade was only two months along…and it had been nearly two months since Jade had been kidnapped from the forest…two months since Annabelle's heart had broken. She absolutely hadn't a clue of what was to become of this castle.

What would the King and Queen do when they learn that the King's illegitimate child will be born in a few months' time? Jade had gone through enough, more than she could bear and if this child was going to be taken away from her, Annabelle believed that Jade wouldn't want to stay in this world any longer.

Jade woke up in the morning, feeling a small weight on her arm. She turned around, still feeling lightheaded from last night's 'treatment'. Annabelle snored lightly on Jade's arm. Jade smiled and saw a smudge of dirt on Annabelle's nose. Jade lightly brushed the dirt from Annabelle's pointy nose but this tickled her and she abruptly woke with a large snort. Jade went into a fit of giggles and laughed at Annabelle, clutching on to her stomach and pointing at Annabelle.

"Y-y-you snorted!" Jade managed to get out while still laughing at Annabelle who viciously rubbed her nose. Jade placed a hand over her face and moaned, still laughing softly every now and then.

"That was funny…I don't think I laughed this hard since…hmm…I don't know when I laughed this much." Jade said tapping her chin. She looked at Annabelle who smiled but her eyes told Jade another thing.

"What's wrong?" Jade asked slowly sitting up. Annabelle's lower lip quivered and she raised her hands to explain but Helena walked in through the door with a bowl of water and a plate of food.

"You've woken up! How are you feeling now?" Helena asked, brushing Jade's hair. Jade clamped her mouth shut and crossed her arms, hoping not to speak to Helena.

"Have you not done bloodletting before? Don't you know it is customary whenever you fall ill?" Helena asked.

"It's a bunch of donkey dung. Hell, even eating dung is as effective as cleansing the body from the blood. How can you believe in any of this crap?" Jade asked. Helena looked somewhat puzzled by Jade's speech again.

"What? Child…I don't understand a thing you are trying to say." Helena said. Jade turned around, rolling her eyes and reaching for a loaf of bread.

"It's okay Helena. Thank you, but if you think I have another illness, just kill me quickly, don't drain the blood out of me and leave me alive." Jade said. She bit the loaf of bread and chewed on it, sipping the strong ale slowly.

"I suppose Annabelle hasn't told you yet?" Helena asked looking at Annabelle who looked incredibly nervous.

"Told me what?" Jade asked through the food in her mouth. Jade picked at the piece of moldy cheese on the platter and she didn't bother to touch it. "Ew." Jade said flicking it away. She took another piece of bread and put it in her mouth, looking up to see Helena and Annabelle staring back at her.

"What?" Jade asked. Helena placed a hand over Jade's arm, looking over her face with a minuscule smile.

"You will become a mother. You're pregnant." She said softly. Those words didn't seem like real words to Jade. It was as if Helena just made some sounds out of her mouth that Jade couldn't understand.

"Do you have a husband?" Helena asked Jade who kept staring at her, her entire body and expression frozen. The bread was still swimming in her mouth. Annabelle scooted closer to Jade and placed a hand on Jade's knee, shaking it. Jade slowly turned towards Annabelle and the bread dropped from her hand as they made their way to hold Annabelle's hands.

"What's she saying? You're not being funny are you? This isn't a joke…it can't be." Jade said.

From the sound of her voice, anyone could have told that she was unsure herself, that she was in denial. Annabelle kept trying to console Jade but she instead ended up crying herself.


	31. Near The River Where Love Meets

Jade didn't bother going to do fieldwork. Oscar understood and much to Silvia's annoyance, Helena and Oscar both pushed Jade to sit all day and sew, which was good for both mother and baby. Jade never found sewing her cup of tea and was more annoyed with it than anything else. She preferred to be outside and do something useful with herself than have to weave through fabric. Usually, Annabelle would come over when she had nothing to do and accompany Jade, only having to leave for Peter who she had started to see.

It took a while for Jade to accept the fact that she was going to become a mother of a child that was highly endangered to its surroundings. She often thought that it would be wise not to bring the child into this world, a world where Jade never even came from. How long would she be here? Was the child safe enough to live under Castile and Draco? Was Jade ever going to tell Draco?

Somehow, she couldn't bear to part with the child she was carrying. A part of her felt that this was wrong, that she had no business of giving birth to a child by putting his or her life in danger…but wouldn't they die either way? Another overwhelming part of her disagreed and viciously demanded her to keep the child; that the child was rightfully hers. It was all too much to think and carry for Jade who in the end, decided that she would keep it because of her own rationale…if it was sane or not.

Jade sat on the floor of the Chapel, working on her tapestries. There were magnificent colors of silk threads around her and Jade concentrated with every ounce of her attention to have every tightened thread in its precise place.

"What are you doing here?" Helena asked walking into the Chapel room, carrying a bucket of soap water and rags. Jade abandoned her tapestry and went over to help Helena who refused.

"Carrying heavy things is harmful to the womb and child." Helena said softly. Jade shook her head and reached out to carry the bucket but Helena put it away to the side.

"I've been running around the grounds with Oscar and the men while being pregnant, I'm sure carrying a bucket won't do any harm." Jade told Helena who started to shake her head.

"And you had better be thankful that you never experienced that type of pain and loss. I couldn't have any more children after Annabelle. You might never understand this and I pray you won't, but losing a child that hasn't been born into this world makes you regret more than anything, and it's something you'll ever forget. I felt like I have failed my unborn child when it died in my womb and I always wish that I would have done things differently so he could have survived…Annabelle is all I have, without her, I would have believed myself to be a failure. Do not act carelessly with this life you have been gifted. It is a very beautiful gift that many women do not get. The ability to nurture and love what is a part of yours is something to be appreciated. Remember that." Helena said.

Jade didn't know how to respond to Helena, but she knew how guilty she felt inside. She was being careless with this child and didn't take pregnancy seriously. Everything that was harmful to the baby she did anyways, not thinking twice about it. Helena placed a hand on Jade's head and gave her a pat.

"Now, now, stop this sewing nonsense and go outside for fresh air. Being cooped up in this castle never did anyone any good." Helena said.

Jade gave a half shrug and looked over to her tapestry. True she hated this castle and wished to be as far away she can possibly be, but looking at her tapestry, something she was working so hard on, she didn't want to be away from it.

"But I still-"

"Oh dear child. Go on, Annabelle is outside and so is other women your age. Besides, good air is beneficial to the child, not just you. And when you're out there, tell Annabelle that she will get whipped once she gets back. That girl just disappears into thin air these days and I never see her around or her doing any chores." Helena said as Jade packed up her tapestry and threads.

"I will. Gladly." Jade said.

She tucked her things away and walked off to find Annabelle outside. The weather was beautiful outside. The air was warm, not as hot as it had been for the past two months. Jade walked past the builders, and she swiftly looked around to see if Robert had been amongst them, but he wasn't. It seemed as if Peter was missing too, which wasn't a big surprise to Jade. Wherever Peter was, Annabelle was and vice versa. Jade stopped in front of a group of stone carvers that were tapping away with their chisels and hammer on the blocks of stones that they had in front of them.

"Excuse me; have you seen Peter and Belle around?" Jade asked them. A few of them looked up and gave her a sly grin.

"Peter and the blonde girl? They're near the river doing what all men and women do." A bulky looking man said with a black beard and short arms.

"What?" Jade asked. They looked up again and this time, they thought she was absolutely dumb.

"Just go near the river and see for yourself." He said finally before going back to his work.

Jade didn't ask them anything after that but instead, stood around there awkwardly, wondering what on earth to do. How was she going to just barge in on them that way? Jade finally turned around went to leave. As soon as she went to set out, she heard a crack underneath her foot. Jade quickly looked down and saw a slate of granite, beautifully carved with a face on it that was cracked clean across to where Jade's foot rested.

"Holy shit." Jade said, removing her foot from the stone. She heard someone laughing and she turned to see Robert walking her way, patting his hands clean and still laughing at a joke that one of his masons told him. Jade wanted to run away from the crime scene but she felt horrible at the thought of running away and not taking responsibility for her actions.

"Ey Robert, don't get married eh? Wives are like diseases, once you've got them, you're finished!" the mason said leaving as Robert lifted a hand to see him off.

"I'll try not to. Get back to work, I'm almost finished with my-" Robert stopped, turning around to see Jade in front of him.

Jade tried to put her best puppy dog expression on and hoped that Robert wouldn't get so angry as to taking his damaged stonework and bashing it through her head.

"Oh…hello." He said. He looked uncomfortable and unsure whether or not to smile.

He saw that she looked guilty and scared of something but he couldn't understand why. His eyes traveled down to her feet, seeing her standing right next to the face that he had been working incredibly hard on. The perfect square of stone with that perfect face was broken entirely in half and there was no way Robert was ever going to get back…all thanks to Jade. He looked up, feeling a rush of emotions. He wanted to say something nasty to her, but seeing her look so grim and unhappy, he restrained himself.

"How could you do this?" he asked through his teeth. "You know how long it takes for me to make this, how could you just break it without having to think that I've put my entire devotion into this?" he asked. He curled his fists together, trying to stabilize his anger and injustice done by this woman that he had started to become fond of. Jade shook her head and for a very terrible reason, she felt overwhelmed with her hormones.

"No, I didn't do this on purpose. I swear. I was walking and I didn't even know it was there. I'm really sorry Robert, I had no idea." Jade said seeing him bend over and pick up his pieces.

"Your apologies won't give me back my work or my time. Women." He said walking away from her.

"Why can't you understand? I'm apologizing to you. I know you're angry but I didn't do this on purpose to hurt you!" Jade said seeing him walk away without looking back at her. It didn't take long for Jade to burst into loud tears and walk away, visibly frustrated to the entire field of carpenters, masons and builders.

"What is it with women these days? You say one small thing to them and its all tears and blood for them." One of the builders said to the other.

As Robert walked off, he heard Jade crying and walking off into another direction towards the river. A twinge of guilt pinched him as he thought of making her cry. His stone work wasn't really that important and he shouldn't have insulted her that way in front of the entire group of workers. He stopped and turned around to look at the trees where Jade had disappeared into to escape everyone else. With a sigh, Robert flung the two pieces of the granite face into a pile of rubbish and went to leave to apologize to Jade. He felt a tug on his arm and he turned around to see Peter's younger brother, Tallis gawking at him with his two gapped front teeth.

"What is it Tallis?" Robert asked Tallis who nodded towards the pile of rubbish.

"Um…you threw it out." Tallis said. Robert paused and looked at Tallis curiously.

"Yes…I did." Robert said. Tallis shrugged and scratched his head.

"Sorry about that." Tallis said. Robert sighed and patted Tallis's frail shoulder.

"It's all right. Accidents happen…I don't think she meant to-"

"Oh thank the heavens! I thought you would be mad at me!" Tallis said. He guffawed and placed a hand on his head.

"Mad at you for doing what?" Robert asked. Tallis walked over to the pile of rubbish and picked half of the face that Robert threw away.

"For this! I dropped this by accident and left it on the floor to get some mortar to place it back together before you came back. But since you're not mad, I suppose I could confess." Tallis said.

Robert immediately narrowed his eyes at Tallis who cowered back in fear.

"You're not mad are you?" Tallis squeaked.

"_You_ broke this? I just blamed a woman for this!" Robert said. Tallis furrowed his eyebrows and lightly himself on the back of his head.

"Oh." He said flatly. "You should have told me this before I told you so I could have easily gotten away with it…but it's fine right? We'll just blame it on the woman and pretend it never happened." Tallis said.

If Tallis were a man equal to Robert, Robert would have knocked the living breath out of Tallis. Instead, Robert grabbed Tallis by the collar and dragged him towards the working area. He pushed him towards the small hill of blocks of stone and pointed to them.

"I want them all cut into equal perfect, unscathed lengths of 2 feet until tomorrow morning. If all of it isn't done by tomorrow morning, I'll skin your young arse and have you lift these stones by your ears. Do you understand?" Robert yelled. Tallis shook and nodded frantically. Robert swung his hand towards the stones and Tallis ran off to do his work. Robert saw Tallis go right away to his assigned punishment.

* * *

There had been a gushing river near the castle of Castile that Jade loved to watch whenever she was done with her work for the day. The calming sounds of water rushing and clapping softly to wherever the river led was something that Jade appreciated. Right now, she needed a break from the world than more than anyone would need. For the past couple of weeks she had gone through more than anyone she had ever met. Being transported into another century, in a place where nothing was familiar to her. She was a servant in the castle of a madwoman that was after her life and to top things off, that woman was married to the father of the child that Jade was currently carrying. That would have made a wonderful bedtime story!

Jade didn't understand why she was being overly emotional over something so small. Out of all things she could cry about, she was crying over this. Jade felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked up to see Robert standing next to her, frowning.

"What do you want from me? Haven't had enough of insulting me?" Jade asked, looking away from him. Robert crouched down next to Jade and looked her over. The soft late afternoon sunlight touched on some of the parts of her body. Her hair in the sun glowed a deep rich honey color, even though it was brown under normal light. His eyes met with hers and she snarled, obviously displeased by the way he was looking at her.

"What?" Jade snapped.

"May I sit and explain?" he asked softly. Why did he have to ask so politely? Why couldn't he just make it easier for Jade to tell him to screw off?

"I don't think I want to hear a word about you telling me how much you hate me for breaking your little art work or whatever you call it." Jade said getting up from her seat. She wasn't enjoying being near the river anymore, not when Robert was around. Robert caught Jade's arm and held on to her gently. Jade quickly looked down to her arm where he held her and the two instantly felt alert from the sudden hold. Robert worried, wondering if he had offended Jade even more. He saw her tuck her arm back to her chest, almost as if guarding herself from him.

"I'm sorry…Jade." Robert said.

Jade merely nodded, looking away from him, tightening her jaw. She stood there rigidly, away from him, her eyes hard and cold as ever as she tried to stare at the trees on the opposite side of her. If it weren't for the occasional chirps of the birds, the constant trickle of the ever-flowing river and the rustling of the leaves around them.

"Why are you here?" Jade asked curtly. Robert straightened his back, watching her still concentrating on the trees.

"You didn't break it and I don't hate you." Robert said.

Jade stood there for a moment, feeling very guilty and awkward for her position. Here she was, standing, about to leave and Robert was sitting there, apologizing for what he had done.

"I'm very sorry for yelling at you that way. It was very insensitive and rude on my part…and you haven't broken the stone carving." He said.

Jade smirked and leaned against the stone boulder behind her. "Really? It looked pretty broken to me." She commented, seeing him chuckle.

"No, it's broken, you just haven't broken it. It was someone else." He said. He saw her turn her head around at him again and give him a brief smile.

"Are you trying to make me feel better or are you telling the truth?" Jade asked.

"Both." He said. There was another silence and Robert started to feel out of his comfort zone as this awkwardness continued.

"Jade, the point is not who broke the stonework or who did not. It was wrong of me to speak to you that way." Robert saw that Jade kept her concentration on the trees nearby, trying to avoid any eye contact with him. With a sigh, he stood up, ready to leave.

"I am sorry. If there is anything you need me to do to compensate for my actions, I will gladly do it Milady. I will understand if you never wanted to see me again." He said. With that, he turned around and left. Jade quickly turned around and saw him leaving.

"No! Robert wait." Jade said. She shoved herself from the rock that she had been leaning on and walked her way towards Robert who turned around.

"You don't have to leave. I should apologize to you." Jade said. Robert shook his head and went to explain but Jade interrupted him.

"Please, just listen to me. I haven't been myself these couple of days and I shouldn't have overreacted or tried to act so ignorant while you were apologizing. Like I said, I haven't been myself." Jade told Robert who only gave her a half-hearted smile.

"Whoever you are…you mesmerize me." He said. Jade felt her cheeks heat rapidly and a faint pounding in her ears. She tried to fight the blush off, to think about something else, but seeing Robert look away from her, smiling shyly.

"Erm…" Jade trailed off.

"Does this mean you accept my apology?" Robert asked quickly before Jade really thought there was something wrong with him and ran away.

"I…yes…I do." Jade nodded.

Robert gave her a huge grin and scratched the back of his head. Robert wanted to say something more but he was cut short by sounds of someone giggling and rustling leaves. Jade and Robert turned around to see Peter and Annabelle walking out of the bushes, their faces red and their mouths stretched into a wide grin.

"Where were you?" Jade and Robert both asked at the same time. They turned their heads towards each other and exchanged a brief smile and turned back to Peter and Annabelle who started to blush in embarrassment.

"Skipping work since morning." Robert accused of Peter.

"Missing for hours and nowhere to be found!" Jade told Annabelle.

"I really don't care about you, but _someone_ needs to get a little work done around here." Robert said crossing his arms.

"I was worried _sick_ about you love! The whole day you were gone and we were all looking for you! What would I do if you had gotten hurt?" Jade asked walking over to Annabelle. Jade placed a hand on Annabelle's shoulder and protectively brought her closer, away from Peter. Peter frowned as Jade took Annabelle away from him.

"I wouldn't hurt her. Would you think I'd ever hurt Annabelle?" Peter asked, his eyes drifting back to Annabelle's face. Jade saw Annabelle smile and blush, looking away from Peter who broke into a large grin and turned to the shade of a beet.

"I think I'd hurt you…I actually would like to hurt you. Get back to work Peter and knock some sense into your brother." Robert said. Peter gave a short nod towards Robert and looked back at Annabelle. Jade smiled and let Annabelle go, letting Peter hold her hands and softly touch her face.

"Farewell Annabelle. I will see you tom-" Peter was stopped by Robert's forced cough. "Er…I will see you whenever I can." He said, loud enough for Robert to hear.

Jade stepped away from Peter and Annabelle but still watched them with admiration. She was consciously telling herself that she should just mind her own business and let them go on with whatever they were doing but she couldn't tear her eyes off of them. Annabelle had been so lucky for a man to love her so properly. Peter nearly melted for her, every time he even looked at her. Jade felt a familiar emptiness start to diffuse its way across her body from the center of her chest. She had thoughts about Draco again. Ever since he had left her, he was true on his word and never showed up for a good two months. As much as she despised the castle of what it stood for, Jade always wished to catch a glimpse of him to see how he was since these months.

Peter let Annabelle go and watched her walk towards Jade.

"It's getting late. We are finished with today's work…although I don't think your brother is too fortunate Peter." Robert said as they started to walk back to the castle.

"What has that dunce done now?" Peter asked.

"He's-"

"Gentlemen, we'll be taking your leave. Annabelle and I have to go back into the castle for supper." Jade interrupted Robert. Both Peter and Robert turned towards Jade who was leaning towards the entrance of the castle with Annabelle.

"You have to go so soon?" Robert asked seeing Jade nod.

"Good night. I'll see you later." Jade said. Annabelle waved towards Peter who waved back and to Robert who didn't notice. Annabelle left, pulling Jade along who said her final goodbye to the men.

Robert watched Jade leave without giving him a second glance. There was something that someone said but he didn't quite understand.

"Hmm?" Robert asked, still looking at the entrance of the castle.

"Robert? Robert what's she done to you?" Peter asked touching Robert's shoulder who slightly shook his head.

"I dunno." Robert replied. It was then that Robert realized that he was day dreaming while staring at the entrance. He snapped back to Peter who grinned at him, catching his secret.

"What are you smiling about? Nothing's funny here." Robert said.

"You like her. You like Annabelle's friend." Peter accused. Robert walked away from Peter and the two walked back to the work site, talking about women and Peter's brother Tallis.

* * *

"It's not what you think Belle." Jade said seeing Annabelle shake her head. Jade giggled at Annabelle who held her hands close to her chest and lifted her shoulders high enough to touch her ears, feigning love.

"Belle…it's not that way with him. He's a nice man…but he's too good for me. You know the type of woman that I am." Jade turned around and pushed up her bed of straws to make it more comfortable for her back. Jade felt Annabelle shift from her place and over to Jade, turning her shoulders around to face her. Annabelle turned Jade's face to meet hers and read into her eyes.

"I'm the type of woman at a man's disposal…that is all I am." Jade whispered. Annabelle placed her fingers over Jade's lips and shook her head. Jade bent her head and sobbed, allowing Annabelle to hug her tightly and console her to sleep.


	32. Changing Alliances

Merthin flew past the corridors, his cloak soaring behind him, whipping against the walls at every turn he made. He loved the castle for its secrecy and intrigue for his quiet adventures. He had been watching the girl for months now, ever since he had confronted her and warned her to stay away from him. He had a very close eye on her, on her every move. He reported back to the Queen on Jade's every move and the future of Castile. He had seen Jade's pregnancy before Jade had and told the Queen who had been more pleased than anything on hearing that good bit of news. The Queen touched Merthin's shoulder and congratulated him and praised him by telling him that his wife and children would have been so proud. Merthin was deeply touched and even wept about it. He stopped in front of the guards of the Queen's chamber.

"I have very important news for the Queen." Merthin told the guard. The guard gave Merthin a short nod and opened the door. In a few moments, the guard came back out and opened the door for Merthin to enter. The Queen's chamber had been dimly lit and the curtains weren't even drawn to let any source of natural light in.

"Yes Merthin, what brings you back to my chamber?" the Queen asked. Merthin immediately bowed his head and turned to the source of the Queen's voice.

"Your majesty, I have come with news of the girl." Merthin said.

"Yes I know that, quickly tell me what you have seen." The Queen asked impatiently. Merthin bowed again and continued.

"Your grace, the builder you have appointed to extend your castle, he seems to have taken a liking for her." Merthin said.

"It's nothing to benefit me you foolish knave! I do not care whether or not-" she paused as she let something run across her mind. "This will break whatever attachment Henry felt for the girl. He will know that she does not truly love him because she will be with another man! Merthin…I have a plan for the whore, the builder, Henry and my unborn child who is carried in the whore's womb." She whispered.

Merthin exited the Queen's chamber right away for preparations. The Queen's plans were devious and Merthin sometimes had felt that they were too cruel at times. He thought about how obsessed the Queen was on the two people who had come from a different world. He had understood now why the Queen had kept Jade alive. She had wanted a child with the long deceased Henry but never had the pleasure of being a mother. The Queen was barren.

Technically, the child existing in Jade's womb was the Prince of Castile, the King's bastard child. Often times, Merthin wanted to tell the Queen that she was mistaken. King Henry had died a very long time ago and the man right now, who bore similar resemblance to the deceased King was not Henry but Draco. However Merthin did not dare to correct the Queen and let her continue believing that Draco was Henry.

Merthin entered his dungeon room, wishing every time that the Queen would give him a much more comfortable and warmer place to rest. He sat on his chair, near his desk and took out his quill and parchment. Merthin thought about creating a youth potion for the Queen, something he had been trying to find for years. He tapped the quills point on the parchment, thinking of the basic ingredients for the potion.

"Would salamanders tail be an active counteract for the-" Merthin stopped to turn so fast in his chair; he almost fell out of it. The crystal stone emitted an aurora of brilliancy.

"The future has come so soon." Merthin said to himself, seeing a hazy image forming through the lights.

_"You must learn to leave this place. Protect yourself and your child for you both are in terrible danger." A deep voice said._

Merthin squinted, seeing Jade's face showing through the lights. She looked oddly confused and horrified at the same time.

"Who is telling her this?" Merthin asked.

_"I don't understand. How can I leave when I can't find the damned Portkey? And why are you helping me-" _

_"You do not understand you foolish little girl! She will have you killed! She has done unforgivable things to many people of this country and you are different. She is fantasizing about your death after having your child snatched away from you." the voice said. Jade gasped her hand flying to her mouth. "You must reach the Portkey my child." The voice told Jade. _

_"A-And Draco? What about him? I can't leave him here." Jade said, her voice strained. _

_"Forget him. Think about your child and yourself. I will help you and I will protect you until my very death. I promise you." _

The lights had faded and all there was was an empty wall and the dark room of the dungeon. Merthin stood up from his seat, thinking about what he had just seen. Someone was going to help Jade escape Castile. Before it was too late, Merthin left immediately to capture the culprit and kill whoever that was going to dare to go against the Queen and her bidding by letting her enemies escape. Merthin entered the corridor to the Queen's chamber but heard loud voices.

"Do you not feel the least bit guilty or ashamed of what you put that man through?" the voice belonged to Draco, but it didn't match the one that Merthin had heard a few minutes ago from the future. There was a raspy chuckle that belonged to the Queen.

"I do not feel guilty nor ashamed of my actions. In order to gain something, someone else must lose something…not I." the Queen said.

Merthin stood still, listening keenly on to a conversation that could cost him his head if he ever was caught.

"You killed his wife and children and gained his alliance to you by blaming it on Hortua, which is now the west side of Castile. He's your puppet isn't he and you're playing him just like your toy." Draco said.

"Just the way I am playing with you my husband." The Queen told Draco. There was a small silence.

"He has magic…don't you ever think he'll turn against you?" Draco asked. The Queen laughed at Draco's question, making a fool out of it.

"That dumb and gullible tub of pig is prepared to jump off the tower for me. He is there for my bidding and will risk his life for me. He thinks I have saved his life by taking him in. He doesn't know that I've instead ruined his entire life by killing his children and his wife. I would not have, but his wife knew me too well…she wanted to warn him about my intentions but I had to keep her quiet didn't I?" she asked. Another pause.

"How did you do it?" Draco asked.

"How did I kill Merthin's family you mean?" the Queen asked.

"Yes." Draco confirmed.

"I shut their doors and locked their windows and set their home on fire. They were screaming for mercy, for their lives but I never gave them that mercy. Merthin was an enormous gain to making Hortua a part of Castile. Now, Merthin will do extraordinary things for me. There will be very big changes in Castile in the following months…6 months to be exact." Castile said.

"Changes? 6 months? What do you mean?" Draco asked.

"You will see my husband. You will see." Castile said.

"You promised to me Castile that you won't harm her." Draco said. His voice deceived his vulnerability and desperation behind that question. There was no doubt in his voice that he still held whatever feelings he had for Jade after all this long.

"I do remember Henry. I will not hurt you." the Queen said.

From the small crack of the door, Draco had seen Merthin standing at the middle of the corridor. Draco gave a smirk and bent his head slightly at Merthin so the Queen wouldn't be suspicious of Draco acknowledging Merthin. Draco had done Merthin a very big favor and had saved Jade's life once again.

Merthin stood, his feet stuck to the ground and his shock overwhelming him. The person that he had entrusted in, who he thought had saved him had destroyed him. The Queen of Castile had sent his home up in flames with his wife and children inside. Merthin couldn't believe his blindness. He was helping out his family's murderer by sentencing other people in danger and to finding the most dangerous tool that she could lay her hands upon. He was sentencing a young woman and her child's life to damnation because of the Queen. He was going to sacrifice the young woman's life, who could have been his daughter by now if she weren't murdered by the Queen. Merthin needed to change that, he needed to save her life and prevent the Queen from succeeding in her own plans.

With that, he left but just then Merthin felt another wash of realization; the voice that spoke to Jade, the 'culprit' had been no one else's voice but his own.


	33. An Irish Party In Third Class

**I loved this chapter, mainly because I kind of put myself into the whole festive mood and all...and in order to put myself into the mood, I need to have the right music! I highly recommend everyone listen to 'Irish Party In Third Class- NO DIALOGUE' on Youtube. I'm a big fan of Irish music and this was exactly what I wanted while writing this chapter! I hope you guys like it too!! Have a fun read! =D**

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"Let us say you have a girl, what will you name her?" Helena asked, mixing a bowl of quail eggs. Jade paused from peeling the onions on the floor and looked at Helena fondly.

"Why a girl?" Jade asked. Helena giggled and shrugged.

"We'll I have always been fond of girls, as you know I have a daughter who I seem to never see-where is that child?!" Helena asked.

"I haven't really thought of names. Maybe I should, I don't know." Jade said looking back at the onions. She couldn't help but think of Draco. What would he want his child's name to be? Would he have wanted a boy or a girl?

_'Probably a boy'_ Jade thought. Jade heard Helena swear and she looked up, seeing Annabelle walking inside of the kitchen and spot Jade. Annabelle instantly smiled and grabbed Jade's hand, pulling her up to her feet.

"What is this about Belle? I'm not finished with the onions!" Jade said. Annabelle waved Jade's comment off impatiently and pulled her out of the kitchen.

"Child you had better get back in here and do some work around here! Annabelle!" Helena called.

Annabelle clicked her teeth and flagged her mother down. Jade and Annabelle both left the castle and walked outside to see the group of builders drinking, clapping and singing to a song while others danced. Annabelle led Jade towards Peter as Jade saw Robert amidst one of the men dancing with a woman. Jade felt nearly sick when she saw Silvia's daughter Jody dancing with him, baring all her teeth and trying to send him seductive looks. She wore a black dress that was smeared in caked brown dirt. She exposed a good part of her chest that left little to anyone's imagination.

"She has been dancing with him the entire time." Peter said suddenly. Jade nodded her eyes still on Jody and Robert.

"Yes well...I'm happy she knows how to dance. I only thought she was good for a free shag and a blow." Jade said. Peter and Annabelle gasped and both fell into a fit of giggles. Jade smiled along with them, seeing how in sync and ridiculous the two were. Annabelle and Peter soon forgot that Jade was near them and gave each other their undivided attention. Peter placed a gentle kiss on Annabelle's forehead and kissed her hand.

"Is it too soon to tell you I love you?" Peter asked Annabelle who shook her head, smiling widely. Jade looked away from them and crossed her arms to her chest as everyone finished dancing. Jade looked around to see that all of the castles women had gotten out to enjoy a few moments of the builder's dancing and drinking. Her eyes wandered back to Robert and Jody and Jade felt herself tense a bit when she saw Jody whispering something in Robert's ear. Robert stood there, his head bent; listening intently to every word she was telling him.

"You've got to be kidding me." Jade said to herself. Something that Jody told Robert caused him to start to leave but she grabbed his arm and tried to get his attention back. Robert shrugged and shook his head, saying something to Jody. He took a drink from his ale and looked away from her, catching Jade's gaze. Jade instantly ripped her eyes away and turned around to see Peter murmuring something into Annabelle's ear.

"Belle I'll go back inside to give Helena a hand with the cooking." Jade said. Annabelle and Peter both frowned at Jade, causing her to squirm.

"You're going to leave? But you've just gotten out!" Peter said.

"Yeah I know but I don't know why I would want to be here. I don't-"

"Hello there." Robert greeted behind Jade. Jade, Peter and Annabelle turned around to see Robert standing there, smiling at them.

"Robert!" Peter greeted as Annabelle gave Robert a nod.

"How are you Annabelle?" Robert asked taking Annabelle's hand and kissing it. Annabelle gave him a small curtsey and Robert turned towards Jade.

"Robert…nice to see you again." Jade said allowing him to take her hand and kiss it. Jade swallowed and tried to look normal, but she felt very out of place.

"Let's dance!" Peter told Annabelle as the drummers started to beat to a new song. Peter and Annabelle ran off and Jade suddenly missed Annabelle's company. Why did she have to run away with Peter? Why was Peter even there?

"Have some ale." Robert said handing his cup to Jade who looked down at his cup and back up to him.

"I actually," Jade said placing a hand on her stomach. "Can't. I'll have some water." Jade said.

"Water?" Robert asked with a laugh.

"What?" Jade asked seeing him laughing at her. "What's so funny? Why are you laughing?" Jade asked.

"Who drinks water these days?" Robert asked. He took a sip from his ale and looked back at Jade.

"Apparently I do…along with so many other healthy people." Jade said seeing him grin.

"Sweetheart, no one drinks water here." Robert said. Jade sat back and smiled at him. Robert went to say something to Jade but Jody walked by, interrupting him.

"Robert, there you are! Come dance with me." Jody said trying to yank Robert away. Robert stumbled for a moment but pulled himself away from Jody.

"I was actually speaking to-"

"He was telling me how much he wanted to dance with you." Jade said, seeing Robert's face fall. Jade gave him a quick wink and watched him get dragged off by force thanks to Jody. Jade nearly doubled over in laughter as she saw Robert turn his head towards her direction and give her a bewildered expression. A man walked over to Jade and turned his hand over to Jade.

"May I?" he asked.

"Oh…thank you, but I'll politely decline." Jade said. The sweet man bowed and walked away, asking other women for a dance. Jade politely refused many of the men who asked for a dance. She had been the only woman sitting there, watching everyone else. Oscar walked over to Jade and wrapped an arm around her.

"Why are ya sittin' here by yerself? Get up and dance with an old man!" Oscar said. Jade shook her head and held Oscar's hands tightly with hers.

"I don't know how to dance Oscar. It's all right, you go on and dance." Jade said. Oscar gave Jade a small smile and pinched one of Jade's cheeks.

"All right, but yeh owe me a dance." Oscar said as Jade nodded.

"Of course Oscar." Jade said.

Oscar walked away and met with a group of women by yelling enthusiastically and throwing his hands in the air. As the song came to a close, everyone started to look for a new partner. Since Jade had refused most of the men and even Oscar, no one bothered to ask her the second time again. Jade saw Annabelle motion for her to join them but Jade shook her head and chuckled when Annabelle kept losing her attention because of Peter. Jade saw Robert turn away from Jody and walk straight towards her. Jody was right behind him as usual and Jade looked amused by the scene.

"I bet that was fun wasn't it?" Jade asked. Robert only smiled at Jade and took a hold of her arms.

"Robert, don't waste your time-" Jody started to say.

"Thank you Jody. I'd like to dance with Jade now if you don't mind."

"She does mind." Jade said.

"I do mind." Jody said.

Robert only shrugged and pulled Jade away who started to resist.

"Hey! What are you doing? I never gave you permission to dance with me!" Jade said, trying to walk back to the place she sat. Robert instead pulled her to the opposite direction and smirked.

"My lady, I never gave _you_ permission to let me dragged off and ravished by Jody." He said. Jade giggled, seeing him playfully narrow his eyes at her.

"I'm sorry." Jade laughed, not meaning it at all. Robert laughed along with her and kept pulling her. "I can't dance Robert! I don't know how to dance!" Jade hissed. Robert only dragged her off towards the dancing group and grinned.

"I do not know how to dance either! Just do what everyone does." Robert said, taking her hand and wrapping his arm around her waist. He pulled her closer to him and Jade immediately felt his warmth and security enfold her.

"I'm going to look _so_ stupid. I don't know how to dance." Jade said.

"Stop worrying." He whispered in her ear. The drummers struck their drums, creating a fast paced tempo for everyone to dance to. Someone whistled shrilly and Jade heard cheers all around her. Everyone started to jump, holding on to their partners and moved quickly around, twirling and jumping. Jade and Robert followed them, dancing to the music and holding on to each other as they skipped and leapt. Jade burst out into laughter, never experiencing this much fun in a long time. The music played faster and the dancing became more erratic and quick. The faster they danced, Jade never felt worried about herself falling over or making a fool out of herself. Robert was glued to her chest, rock solid and so warm. He steadied her and kept her safe throughout the entire dance. When the song came to a close, everyone clapped and cheered, sending out a rush of energy for others. Jade held on to Robert tightly and leaned into him, feeling his lips touch her eyebrow.

They stood this way for a while and neither had any intention of letting each other go. Jade tried to think of Draco but she felt that Draco was too far away. He wasn't crossing her mind the way he had been for all this time, now it was Robert. Every time Jade thought of Robert, it made her hold on tighter to him and stay this way for the rest of her life. She felt undeniably protected and wanted from this man. Robert kissed her brow and edged his face down to kiss her cheek bone. Jade moved her face up to his, their noses touching and their lips brushing slightly.

Someone hooted near them and everyone joined in, clapping and pointing at both Jade and Robert. Jade and Robert opened their eyes and looked around to see everyone watching them and teasing them. Jade loosened her hold on Robert, causing him to release her waist. They slowly separated from each other, smiling and blushing, not being able to look at each other. Annabelle ran towards Jade and looped her arm with Jade's, asking her silently about what the exchange between Robert and her dance was about. Jade shied away, walking away with Annabelle, leaving Robert standing there with Peter clapping his back.


	34. Snogging In An Oratory

For a few days Jade had come back and had never looked so happy and alive. Annabelle would sometimes catch Jade working but her gaze was somewhere else and there was a blank look on her face, as if she were thinking of something else. Annabelle started feeling much better about Jade. She just had gotten back out of the hole that no one except Robert or Draco, could get her out of. Ever since Peter had told her that Robert had been acting differently whenever Jade was around, Annabelle thought it would have been a good thing for Jade to move on from Draco. Robert was kind and sweet just like Peter and met women with respect. A man that would treat a woman like Jody with respect and didn't have the intention of bedding her was something Annabelle admired and liked about Robert. Jade was in good hands. Annabelle sat down next to Jade who broke her trance from the wall and smiled at Annabelle.

"Hello, I didn't even hear you coming." Jade said seeing Annabelle grinning evilly. "Oh Annabelle don't start now! It's not what you think it is! I wasn't thinking about him!" Jade said. Annabelle nodded mockingly and Jade shook her head, shoving Annabelle gently.

"Arse." Jade said. Annabelle chuckled and hugged Jade tightly, planting a kiss on her head. She motioned that she would go outside to meet Peter and Jade nodded, letting her go.

"I'll go take a nap…I'm feeling exhausted." Jade said. Annabelle helped Jade up and hugged Jade before she left upstairs.

Annabelle silently walked down the spiral steps that were lit with burning torches. She heard someone coming behind her and she turned around to see Silvia walking down the steps with a stack of white folded sheets on her arm.

"What are you doing here?" Silvia asked. Silvia didn't let Annabelle answer so she handed Annabelle the stack of sheets. "These need to be set on the beds in the lower chambers. Since you've been disappearing, you might get a little work done around here." Silvia said walking away.

Annabelle's lip curled in disgust and she turned around and walked down the stairs to the chambers downstairs to make the beds. The stairway ended and a new hallway opened up for Annabelle as she walked through it, into a chamber to get started on the beds. There was a small sound from the hallway and Annabelle stood still, listening closely. There hadn't been any more noise coming from the hallway. Thinking it probably had been a rat, Annabelle turned back around and yanked the sheets upward, watching it slowly fall back on to the bed. Annabelle heard the door swing open and she turned around, startled by seeing one of the guards. He leered at Annabelle and took off his metal helmet and undid his belt.

"You'd be useful…you won't say a word to anyone wont you?" he asked, closing the door behind him.

Annabelle dropped the sheets and ran away from him, looking around the room to see what she could throw at him. The guard charged at Annabelle and was greeted by a flying metal vase hitting him hard in the face. He howled in pain, clutching his nose which stung from the pain. Annabelle danced around him and found a way out. She ran as quickly as she could but the guard grabbed a fistful of cloth from the back of her dress and jerked her back. Annabelle fell on top of him and wriggled against him, but he moved himself on top of her, trapping her.

"Fight as much as you want, you're not leaving until I get what I want." The guard hissed.

There was a loud _'thunk'_ and the guard collapsed against Annabelle who pushed him off. Standing in front of her was a man with auburn colored hair and a short beard. He was old but fit enough to carry out many tasks yet still be dependent. His thick eyebrows were raised high and in his hand, he had a thick heavy looking book.

"He deserved it!" the man exclaimed.

Annabelle sat there, still watching the man in horror.

"Are you all right?" he asked tucking the book to his side and extending a hand for Annabelle to take. Annabelle placed a hand on his and he lifted her up. "Annabelle…you must be Jade's friend." He said, blinking at Annabelle who nodded slowly. They stood in front of each other, wondering what to say to each other but the man decided to speak instead.

"My name is Merthin and I am a wizard." Merthin said. He turned around and waved his arm around as the sheets made their way to the beds and made the bed themselves. Annabelle was stunned and absolutely terrified. With one quick look at the wretched man, Annabelle made a dash for the door that slammed itself shut. She turned around and started to wring her hands, pleading that he let her go.

"I know you are afraid and what you have witnessed is forbidden to be practiced in Castile, but I must let you know that your very Queen appoints me to seize control over Castile. The Portkey, the forest, the animals and the future are all controlled by her because of me. Annabelle I need you to listen very carefully. Your friend Jade is in terrible danger. Her life and the life of her child is in danger." Merthin told her.

* * *

Jade took an apple slice from her plate and chewed the crisp and sweet fruit while overlooking the beautiful designs on her tapestry. The tapestry was filled with colors that formed curves, shapes and symmetrical patterns all across. Jade was excited that she was doing this and started to love it. She immediately thought of new designs for the next tapestry as she sat, working tirelessly on the current one. She had found something she loved to do, even though she wasn't being paid for it. Her thread was finished and Jade pulled a knot and snipped the thread from the tapestry with her teeth.

"Good Merlin." Jade yawned, placing the needle in a small tin container. She straightened her back and stretched out her arms and looked up to see Robert standing at the doorway of the oratory, watching her pleasantly.

"Hey! When did you come here?" Jade asked.

"A while ago. You were too busy with your tapestry, which looks magnificent by the way." Robert complimented. Jade smiled and waved him over.

"You could have said something you know. You didn't have to stand there." Jade said seeing him walk over and sit next to her.

"No…I like watching you when you're with yourself. You look troubled and uncomfortable when you're with others." He said softly. Jade took a deep breath and studied his face. She didn't even realize this herself. She always thought she was herself when she was with people as she was by herself but Robert was a builder, a craftsman. He had an eye for detail.

"Well maybe I'm more relaxed while I'm working by myself and not so much when I'm with other people." Jade said. Robert nodded, in agreement with Jade.

"That can be true as well." He said.

"What does that mean? What else do you think?" Jade asked. He shrugged, obviously embarrassed and a tad bit upset to mention it to Jade. They sat next to each other, looking over the patterns of the tapestry.

"I sometimes feel that it's me that makes you uncomfortable. Do I offend you in any way? You don't have to lie to me Jade. I'll understand and-"

"You don't offend me at all. Why would you think that?" Jade asked. Robert only met with Jade's eyes and looked away, his cheeks flushing.

"Liar." He said, smiling to himself.

Jade giggled and pushed him lightly. She smiled looking him over. He was genuinely upset with himself for whatever Jade was going through. He had absolutely no idea what was really bothering her. Jade wanted to explain to him but the thought of him running away from her was something Jade wanted to avoid. She leaned over and touched his dust covered slender hand, feeling him wrap his fingers around with hers.

"You're the last person in this world to make me feel uncomfortable." She whispered.

He turned around to look at Jade. His large green eyes, his dark stained eyebrows, his straight nose and his thin lips were all in sync to show Jade his relief and small trail of unanswered questions that she had left behind. Jade ran her hand up his face, from his prickly unshaven face to the smoothness of his forehead. Robert leaned forward and slowly placed his lips on Jade who responded slowly. Draco had disappeared from Jade's mind completely. She couldn't remember how he looked like anymore and instead had seen Robert clear and vivid in her mind. Because of the pregnancy, her body was uncontrollably thirsty for the past couple of days and speaking to Helena and the other women about it made no help. Being with Robert now had appeased whatever monster had been inside of her. Jade shifted her weight on Robert and forced him to lie down on the floor. He instantly jerked up and yelled rubbing his back.

"I think something stung me!" he said. Jade moved herself to see if there were any bugs nearby and her eye caught the large silver needle glinting from where he had pressed his back on.

"I think I found your bug." Jade said plucking the needle out and waving it in his face. Robert let out a laugh and looked around the room that they were in.

"Well I guess that's what we get for snogging in an oratory." He said.

Robert and Jade spent the time that they could spare with each other. Jade always asked questions about Robert and avoided answering any of his questions about her past or life.

"Why won't you tell me anything about yourself?" he asked. They both walked up and down the fields as Jade planted seeds down the plow fields.

"I do tell you about myself. So what were you telling me about your parents?" Jade asked. Robert gently grabbed Jade's hand, stopping her from going any farther.

"These seeds aren't going to plant themselves." Jade said.

"Nature works in mysterious ways…and my questions aren't going to answer themselves either." He said. He took a handful of seeds from her pouch and planted them himself.

"I'll plant, you speak." He said.

"Robert." Jade started, watching him digging a small hole with his hand and sprinkling a handful of seeds into the earth.

"What are you so afraid of? I've told you that my parents were common peasants. I do not make a great wealth but I earn enough to feed myself. I told you I once had a brother who died when he was at the age of ten and his desire was to become a baker. I've told you so much about me but I know nothing about you. I do not even know you." he said. He placed a hand on her cheek and watched the way she was looking at him. Jade was terrified and at the same time feeling threatened. How was she going to tell Robert about her past without chasing him away?

"I wish you didn't know me. Robert you can do so much better than me. There are so many other-"

"Hey, I was not intending for you to leave me. I only wanted to know something about you." he said. He was being very careful with whatever he said. It was clear to Jade that he didn't want to leave her but Jade wished and prayed that he'd see sense and leave her immediately.

"Why are you with me? You don't know anything about me, except the fact that I live as a servant in this castle. Why are you still here? Why do you still bother?" Jade asked. Robert smiled, bringing her close.

"There are certain things about you that appeal to me. We have to sit down since it'll take a while for me to explain but I only wanted to let you know that I'm here and I want you. You don't need to tell me anything…if it is something you do not wish to speak about, I do not wish to hear it. Whatever makes you comfortable Jade." He placed a kiss on her forehead and Jade wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his chest. It felt like an eternity since she felt secure and happy again. She sobbed openly in his chest while hugging him in the middle of the fields with still more seeding left.


	35. The Good News

The door swung open and hit the stone wall on the side. The slam of the opening door echoed throughout the walls of Merthin's lair. Merthin, who had been sitting down and concentrating on the crystal stone had fallen off his chair and looked up to the Queen in horror. The Queen of Castile stalked slowly towards him, pointing a finger.

"The Queen is upset." Merthin said bowing his head down. He listened to the Queen's raspy breathing.

"I am exceptionally angry at you Merthin. I have waited nearly 200 years for immortality and I haven't been assured of that. Merthin I need you to hand me my youth. I need my youth before my heir is born." She said, her eyes glowing red. Merthin looked away quickly and nodded.

"Yes your Majesty." Merthin said. The Queen did not leave. Instead, she stood there as if she were waiting for something.

"There has been rumor about the Philosopher's Stone. Have you heard anything of the sort?" the Queen asked casually. Merthin had indeed heard about the Philosopher's Stone. It had been currently in the hands of Nicolas Flamel.

"No I have not my Queen." Merthin said. His heart pounded inside of him and he wished the Queen hadn't caught him lying. The last thing he wanted to hand over the Queen was immortality. He hated her deeply and a thousand deaths played over his mind, waiting for him to choose which one he would love to act upon.

"Tell me if you hear of the Stone. It will do me great outcomes Merthin." She said leaving. Merthin kept his head down and heard her stop nearby the door. "I also have seen the girl and Robert the builder together in the fields. I see she has stopped trying to pursue my husband the King. It won't be far away until he sees her treachery and snatch our son from her very womb." She left the room and Merthin looked up, shaking with fear and anger. He was going to send Jade, Draco and their child after the Queen would be killed.

* * *

Jade was four months into her pregnancy and she couldn't hide her secret anymore. She didn't think she would be so worried about showing her pregnancy to everyone, but since Robert had come along, Jade was dreading to tell him.

"What am I going to tell him? _How_ am I going to tell him?" Jade asked, running over the slight bulge in her lower abdomen. Annabelle shrugged, not looking interested. She hadn't been feeling too well these days and looked sick.

"Are you all right Belle?" Jade asked, gathering Annabelle's long blonde hair. She tied it and fanned Annabelle's face, trying to alleviate her nausea. Annabelle jerked forward and vomited near the bushes. Jade held on to Annabelle, hearing Annabelle retch and empty her stomach from the morning's food. Jade wondered why Annabelle was suffering from a stomach illness so suddenly. Jade felt fine and so did everyone else. Something clicked in Jade's mind. The way she had also suffered from a 'mysterious illness' had turned out to be something that Helena called "A phase that all mothers go through." Jade said to herself.

"Annabelle…you're pregnant." Jade said. Annabelle looked up, looking surprised and then guilty after that. "Oh my God." Jade said smoothing Annabelle's hair out.

The two friends sat there silently, thinking about what they had just discovered. Jade looked at Annabelle who chuckled nervously. Annabelle turned towards Jade and signed that their child together were going to be born and would be good friends just like they were. Jade couldn't help but giggle and nod. She took Annabelle's hand and wrapped an arm around her.

"My child is your child and your child is mine." Jade said. They heard someone coming and straightened up to see Tallis walking by. He stopped to see Jade and Annabelle together and bowed his head slightly.

"Tallis would you please send Peter?" Jade asked. Annabelle immediately went to protest but Jade quieted her down. "Immediately." Jade told Tallis who nodded confusedly. He ran back and Jade turned to Annabelle.

"Belle you need to tell Peter. Besides, your mother would be heartbroken to see you pregnant and unmarried. She never lets _me_ hear the end of it and I'm not even her daughter!" Jade said. Annabelle bit her lip, thinking things over. She looked at Jade and pointed to her.

"Me? Who would I tell? Robert? I don't know Belle. I don't know how to tell him." Jade said. Peter arrived with Tallis and smiled when he saw both Jade and Annabelle together.

"Hello." Peter said pleasantly. He kissed Annabelle's cheek and frowned when he saw Annabelle's pale face. "What is going on? Are you sick Annabelle?" Peter asked touching Annabelle's hand.

"Peter! Tallis where is your brother off to now?" Robert yelled. Peter turned around to see Robert appear, looking tired and wild. "Peter we only have to set the mortar, that's all. You can speak to Annabelle as much as you want after that. Hello sweetheart." Robert said seeing Jade.

"Annabelle looks sick. Can you manage without me?" Peter asked. Robert looked at Jade who stood up quickly and took his hand.

"Of course he can. Take care you two." Jade said as she pulled Robert away. Robert looked confused and kept turning back to look at Peter who spoke to Annabelle.

"What's wrong with Annabelle?" Robert asked Jade. They both walked to the site where the men had been preparing to pour the mortar on the stones.

"Annabelle's expecting. Peter's going to be a father." Jade said. It was as if Jade had told Robert that he himself was going to be a father. Robert cracked a smile and his eyebrows shot up. He looked at Jade with intense surprise and let out a small laugh.

"Peter's going to become a father? Peter and Annabelle?" Robert asked. Jade nodded. Robert pulled Jade into a hug, squeezing her tightly.

"She's telling him right now. She's about a month or so along." Jade said against Robert's chest.

"He's been constantly telling me that he'd love to have children with her. For a while he'd been planning to ask Annabelle's mother for Annabelle's hand in marriage." Robert said, letting Jade go. Jade smiled, her mind still fixated on how she would be telling him that she was expecting a child that was not his.

"Robert, I need to tell you something as well." Jade said. Robert ran the back of his hand down Jade's cheek and kissed her forehead.

"Oh no...are you expecting as well? You have put on some weight I see." Robert said. Jade tried to smile but she found it difficult for her to play along.

"Forgive me, I am merely jesting. Besides I must go. We need to set the mortar in and I'll be finished soon. Could you wait for me then?" Robert asked. Jade nodded immediately, feeling the temporary relief.

"Of course, yes." Jade said. Robert smiled and leaned in to kiss her.

"I promise to see you soon love." He whispered before kissing her. Jade didn't want to let go of him. Feeling him separate from her left a nagging emptiness. She held on to him tighter as he kissed her with a longing that she desired. He broke their kiss and chuckled, hearing her moan in protest.

"I promise you I will give you my time and attention when I return…I love you." he said.

Jade froze her entire body and looked at him with astonishment. He had told her he loved her so soon, was that normal in the 1300's? Robert placed a final kiss on her mouth and said something that Jade didn't hear. She was still reeling from the shock of his proclamation. What did she feel for him? Robert walked away from Jade, waving his hand at her and saying something she wasn't paying attention to.


	36. The Bad News

When Robert left, Jade walked back into the castle, unsure of what to do. She walked into the castle where the kitchens were located to see Helena.

"Helena do you need help?" Jade asked. Helena turned around and smiled to see Jade.

"Are you feeling well today?" Helena asked seeing Jade nod.

"You bet. What are we doing today?" Jade asked. Helena handed Jade a large metal pan.

"I need you to collect the rice plants from the fields and keep them in a dry place for about a week." Helena said. Jade scratched her head and saw Helena giggling at her.

"Don't worry sweetheart, Oscar will show you how it is done." Helena said. Helena placed a small kiss on Jade's head and patted her gently. "He's growing." Helena commented on Jade's stomach, seeing Jade run her hand down and smile.

"I know. They grow so fast. I really can't wait until I hold him in my arms." Jade said seeing Helena smile.

"I cannot wait for him either." Helena said.

With that, Jade lifted her pan and left the kitchen, thinking about the small child she would have in a few months time. Every time she thought about her child, she would eventually end up thinking about both Draco and Robert. How would they both react to her having a child? What would Draco do? Jade went to turn the corner in the corridor but a man sharply turned the corner, scaring her nearly to death. Jade gasped and let go of the pan she was holding from the sudden appearance of the man that she had met roughly four months ago.

Merthin winced at the sound of the pan clattering against the stone floor of the castle. He quickly picked it up and grabbed Jade's arm, pulling her to follow him.

"Wait! Please wait! I haven't done this on purpose! I wasn't trying to look for you, please believe me." Jade said.

Merthin turned around and waved in Jade's face, whispering a spell. Jade tried to plead her case but found that she wasn't making any noise. As much as she strained to say something, nothing came out of her mouth. He had used a silencing spell on her!

"I will not hurt you, but I need you to stay quiet and listen to me carefully." He said.

He quickly led her down the stairs and into the dungeon, a place where Jade had been familiar to when the Queen had her locked up as a prisoner. Merthin approached a room and opened the door, closing and bolting it immediately when Jade entered the room. It was a spacious room but uncomfortable to be in. There was only a cot to the far side of the room and a desk by the side of the cot. There was a table in the center with bubbling cauldrons. There were shelves of ingredients nearby. There was no doubt in Jade's mind that this man was a wizard, but what did he want with her? Jade watched him standing there, watching her, his hands clasped together and he fidgeted from time to time to ease anxiety.

"Please have a seat." He said, pushing a chair towards her. Jade looked at the chair skeptically. He threatened to kill her the last time he had seen her, Merlin knew what was in that chair.

"Do not worry. I will not harm you. I promise." He said. Jade reached for the chair and pulled it back, sitting on it slowly. Merthin stood silently, making Jade wait for his explanation. Merthin suddenly flew towards Jade's knees, causing Jade to give a short scream. Merthin held Jade's legs looking up to Jade as if begging for forgiveness.

"Please forgive me. Please forgive me for everything I have done. I have never felt so guilty and shameful in my life!" he said. Jade gaped at him as Merthin continued. "I was blinded by the Queen. She has betrayed me by taking away my family to gain my alliance. She has dishonestly used my loyalty to ruin your life, but I will not let that happen! I am going to save you and help you out of this castle." Merthin said.

"What? The Queen used you to ruin my life?" Jade asked seeing Merthin nod.

"The Queen is a Squib. She is magically impaired and everything that is governed in this Queendom has been governed through me." Merthin said.

"Then why can't you overthrow-"

"No! You do not know her!" Merthin whispered, shaking his head.

"She has an army and Castile worships her. Even if she is overthrown from her place, it will never allow the people of Castile to worship someone else, someone who is not unknown or possess Divine power." Merthin said.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Jade asked.

"You must learn to leave this place. Protect yourself and your children for you both are in terrible danger." Merthin said, seeing Jade look oddly confused and horrified at the same time. "Who is telling her this?" Merthin asked.

"I don't understand. How can I leave when I can't find the damned Portkey? And why are you helping me-"

"You do not understand you foolish little girl! She will have you killed! She has done unforgivable things to many people of this country and you are different. She is fantasizing about your death after having your child snatched away from you." Merthin said. Jade gasped her hand flying to her mouth.

"You must reach the Portkey my child." Merthin told Jade.

"A-And Draco? What about him? I can't leave him here." Jade said, her voice strained.

"Forget him. Think about your child and yourself. I will help you and I will protect you until my very death. I promise you." Merthin said. He held Jade's hands together, seeing her sit still, trying to gather herself after such a shock.

"My child, what about my child? Why does she want to take him away from me? She's already taken Draco, why does she need my baby?" Jade asked. Her heart started racing and fear shoot through her. Castile had done enough and if she was ever going to take this child away from Jade, it would literally be over her dead body.

"The Queen has been keeping a close eye on you. That means I shouldn't be seen anywhere near you." Merthin said.

"So if you're caught, you'll be tried with treason." Jade said seeing Merthin cock an eyebrow and give her a nod.

"Yes…exactly and if I am gone, you have absolutely no chance of knowing where the Portkey is located." Merthin said.

"Does this mean that you know where the Portkey is?" Jade asked. Merthin shook his head, disappointing Jade.

"The Queen hasn't even told me about the Portkey's whereabouts. If I had known, I would have sent you the very moment I had found out that the Queen-"

"What?" Jade asked softly.

"That the Queen had betrayed me." He finished. He bowed his head, looking away. The reminder of his family's painful death had looked bitter on him. Jade placed a hand on his shoulder and patted him.

"I'm sorry to hear that Merthin. She shouldn't have done that to your family." Jade said. Merthin nodded and wiped his nose with his sleeve.

"You must leave soon. I would not risk your life to be here." Merthin said getting up. Jade stood up from her seat and started walking towards the door.

"How would I be able to contact you or see you without having anyone suspect anything?" Jade asked. Merthin held up a finger and walked over to Jade and touched her wrists.

"All you need to do is clap your wrist three times and I will seek you out. Do not attempt to meet me in the dungeons without my knowledge under any circumstances. Understood?" he asked seeing Jade nod.

"Good girl. Do you have your wand with you?" he asked seeing her shake her head.

"It was broken when you came to save me from Nicolas and Jack." Jade said seeing smiling at the thought of murdering them.

"Ah yes…I remember that now. I am sorry for that. In fact, you had asked me how I perform magic without the use of wands." He said seeing Jade nod.

"Yes, how do you do that?" Jade asked. Merthin tapped his temple and smiled at Jade.

"The strength of your mentality is the only thing a good wizard needs. I will teach you, but it will take time and practice." Merthin said. Jade nodded and went to leave but was stopped by Merthin again.

"By the way, you have a present at the end of the corridor." He said.

Jade had left Merthin's lair feeling that she had many unanswered questions circling around her. The stress and worry about not having to make it home had come back to her and Jade felt overwhelmed again. Another thing that was bothering her was the attachment she had started to feel with most of the people she had met in Castile. She was unsure of Merthin, even though she had pitied him. She loved Annabelle like a sister; she loved Helena who resembled more of a mother than Jade ever had in her life. Jade loved Oscar and most of all Robert, who had completely stripped down her defenses and melted her. Jade almost didn't want to leave because of them. If she could, she would take them back to her Wizarding World. She would introduce them to so many things and would show Helena and Oscar first and foremost the effects of potions and muggle medicine.

"What about Draco?" Jade asked herself.

She didn't know how to answer this question. Draco didn't even seem like a person for Jade anymore, she felt like he was dead; once amongst her but not anymore. Jade wandered back into the corridor and stopped abruptly to see the pan that Helena had given her to collect the rice plants and dry them out. Jade hitched up her dress as she knelt down to pick up the pan.

"Thank you Merthin." Jade said. As she walked up the spiral stairs and back outside, she made way to the fields, first stopping by Robert's work area.

"Robert!" Jade called, seeing him sitting by himself, looking over his plans. Robert looked up to see Jade and smiled.

"I was waiting for you. Where did you run off to?" he asked, getting up and kissing her forehead. Jade lifted the pan of rice stalks and Robert slid his hand under it took it away from her.

"I need to put them in under the sun for a week to dry." Jade said as they started to walk around the castle. Jade held his hand, feeling his presence calm her and melt all the worries in her body and mind. She felt positive whenever she was around him and just the very sight of him and his smile had all reassured her. Jade lifted his hand and kissed it, getting a slight squeeze in response.

"What are you thinking of?" Robert asked as they crossed the fields.

"You, to be honest." Jade said, seeing him smile mischievously at her.

"What am I doing in your head?" Robert asked. Jade giggled and approached the flat linen cloth that had been stretched on four wooden posts for the rice stalks to dry.

"Stop being cheeky." Jade said as she laid out the stalks on the cloth. He came by, grinning as he too placed the stalks on the cloth.

"Am not." He said kissing her cheek. "You know how much I love you." He mumbled near her ear. He kissed her earlobe and walked off, shaking the pan off from the excess water. Jade stood there, watching him. He had told her he loved her again and wasn't ashamed to show the magnitude of his love. Everything he did for her, Jade believed he loved her, more than she probably ever will. Robert turned back around to her and jerked his head towards the river.

"We will talk near the river." He said.

They both walked towards the river and sat nearby it, hidden from the castle and everyone else. Robert rested his head on Jade's lap, his eyes closed as Jade softly stroked his hair, watching him affectionately. Jade traced every part of his face and felt him intertwine his fingers with hers. They wordlessly exchanged touches and caresses. Often times, Robert would open his eyes and look at Jade and they'd sit there, just staring at each other. Sometimes it got up to a point where they both started smiling and laughing at each other for holding a staring contest for too long. Jade's smile faded as Robert sat up and held her close to his chest.

"I'm terribly in love with you." Jade blurted. Robert looked down at Jade and gave Jade a pleasant look. "Don't look at me like that." Jade said feeling embarrassed.

"No…it's just…well it feels nice to hear that. I always thought there was something that was holding you back…even worse I never thought you would even say that to me." Robert said.

"What? Why wouldn't I tell you I love you?" Jade asked seeing him shrug.

"Does it matter? You have told me and I know you mean it…but I always wondered why you just looked so…"

"Depressed?" Jade asked. Robert hadn't said anything. Jade straightened up from her seat and gently directed his face to meet her.

"I need to tell you something. It's really important that I tell you." Jade said seeing him nod. Jade opened her mouth but couldn't find the heart to tell him.

"Robert please don't change your mind. I want you to think about this carefully." Jade said.

"What is it?" he asked gently. His forehead knitted together in worry and it took Jade all the courage she had to break it to him.

"Robert I'm pregnant." Jade said. Robert sat there looking confused for a second.

"Wait we haven't-"

"I know. I'm four months along." Jade said. The confusion on Robert's face changed quickly into an expression that seemed cold and furious.

"Who is he?" Robert asked, trying to sound neutral but Jade could tell it was taking him all his might to sound civil.

"I'm not supposed to tell-"

"Tell me." Robert interrupted. Jade wiped the tears from her eyes and answered him.

"Draco. The King of Castile." She whispered. Robert threw Jade a look of disgust and shoved her hand away.

"You are a liar. You would be hanged for an outrageous accusation made against the King!" Robert exclaimed.

"Robert, please would you just sit down and listen to me." Jade said weakly. Robert shook his head and pointed a finger at her.

"All this time…I've even told you I loved you…I started to fall for you and you couldn't have the decency to warn me? You don't even understand how embarrassed I am." He said starting to leave. Jade leapt up and caught his arm and pulled him back.

"I know how you feel Robert. Don't you think I know that? I tried really hard to push you away but I couldn't. I had to give in Robert. I can't tell you why I had to, I'm sorry but I love you-"

"You don't love me. You only want someone to save you from losing face. You're a servant in this castle, nothing more. I didn't care what you were and I still lost myself to you, but you took advantage of me. You knew how much I cared about you, but I'm never going to fall into a trap that you've set up. I'm not raising a child from another man." He said.

"I didn't ask you to raise this child! I wanted you to know the truth!" Jade said in disbelief. Robert shook his arm off of her, distancing himself.

"Thank you for the truth, but I cannot continue with you. I _do not_ want to see you again." With that, Robert left Jade near the river, heartbroken for the second time in Castile.

* * *

Jade stared at the dark ceiling, feeling the tears continuously pour from the sides of her face. Her eyes were probably swollen into giant grapefruits right now but what did she care? No one was watching her. Jade felt a giant scream building inside of her and it was trying to claw its way out, but she only oppressed it deeper into herself. She raked her fingers through her hair and clenched a fistful, feeling helpless and lost. Robert had left her, someone that she had started to fall in love with and someone that had fallen in love with her. The glow of the moonlight cast down to her stomach, highlighting the small swell. Jade placed a hand over her stomach and closed her eyes tightly, wishing that this wasn't going to be taken from her either.


	37. Mindful Trainings and Crossing Bridges

The next few days and nights weren't going well for Jade. She recoiled back into the same position she had been in when Draco had left her. She neither wanted to be inside nor outside the castle. She had no idea where to go. Jade took time for herself, working and relaxing in the oratory. She was relieved that Annabelle had been spending most of her time with Peter. Jade didn't want to kill Annabelle's mood because of what happened between her and Robert, Jade wanted at least _someone_ to be happy. Whenever Annabelle would come to see Jade, Jade put on a bright smile for Annabelle and acted as if everything were normal. Jade weaved through the cloth and roughly yanked the needle and it ended up poking her finger.

"_SHIT_!" Jade yelled as the echoes mimicked her words from the walls of the oratory. There was a small 'tsk' and Jade turned to see Merthin standing in the corner of the room, covering his mouth from laughing. Jade twisted her mouth and looked away angrily, throwing the needle as far as she could.

"Now, now, what if someone had gotten hurt?" Merthin asked, summoning the needle back. The needle landed in his palm and he sat next to Jade, showing the needle to her.

"Go on, touch it." He said seeing her shrug his hand away. Merthin chuckled and picked up the needle.

"You are angry, that is understandable. You are angry at the needle, that is stupid." Merthin said. Jade shot Merthin a look.

"You don't understand." Jade said. Merthin took a deep breath and released it quickly.

"I am afraid you do not understand Jade. You should be angry at yourself, not the needle." He said.

"Cripes, I thought we crossed that bridge ages ago!" Jade said seeing Merthin shake his head.

"You do not even have a bridge." He said. Jade was starting to feel incredibly irritated in his vague talk about needles and bridges. Just what on earth did they have to pertain in the present world?

"You're stranger than Dumbledore." Jade said. Merthin's eyes lit up and he sat up excitedly.

"Dumbledore! That is a name I have not heard in a while!" Merthin said.

"I don't understand why you're so happy to hear about him. You wanted to kill him and Grindelwald." Jade said.

"Yes but I am very happy I did not. Although I envied their sharp minds and their extraordinary talent in magic. Both possessed a uniqueness that I could not describe in both talent and wit." Merthin said.

"And what about us? What did you think when we first stepped foot in Castile?" Jade asked. Merthin laughed aloud, offending Jade.

"Please do not take this personally but you and your friend are the most gullible and indecisive people I have ever seen…and I have seen many in my life." Merthin said.

"Why, thank you Merthin…this is the nicest thing you've said about me since I've been here." Jade said dryly.

"Oh do not be discouraged. Honestly, I am surprised myself that you have made it this far." Merthin said. Jade hung her head and looked back at her tapestries.

"Just on pure luck and mercy. Besides, the Queen is waiting for my child to be born otherwise I wouldn't have been so lucky. At least Draco's going to stay alive to see-"

"Don't you dare. This will not happen, not for as long as I live. I will defeat her and take you back to your world." Merthin promised.

"Merthin…why don't you come back with us? We all can go back to Hogwarts together. What's the use of staying here? We'll escape and destroy the Portkey." Jade said. Merthin gave her a long stare before responding.

"It sounds so simple and easy, but it is much more complicated than that. How will you convince these people to leave their home for you? These people love what they do and how their lives are governed every day, how will you convince them to give everything up and come to your world?" Merthin asked.

"What do you mean? My world is better, healthier and they don't have to break their backs, fielding and laundering. They have machines for that in my world." Jade said. Merthin seemed interested in the machines that Jade mentioned but he ignored it and tried to bring his point across.

"I do not think you understand because you are being biased. You love your world because you have been born and raised there; throughout your whole life. You are not accustomed to any other world at all. If I had transported myself into your world and we became to be good friends. Would you be able to leave everything behind for good?" Merthin asked. Jade sat in silence realizing that Merthin was right. She would give anything to go back home, even if it was in Snape's Potions classroom.

"I was being selfish wasn't I?" Jade asked softly.

"My child, you did not have any ill intentions. You truly care about these people and at times we sometimes decide what is best for the ones we love because it comforts us." He said.

Jade nodded, her eyes still fixed on the tapestry. She felt a sharp prick on her arm and she shrieked, rubbing her arm vigorously.

"What in the world was that for?!" Jade asked, looking at Merthin as if he were some retarded alien from another planet.

"Are you mad at the needle or me?" Merthin asked, holding the needle up.

"_You_ of course! What are you raving mad?!" Jade asked moving away from him. Merthin went to poke Jade again but she grabbed his arm firmly and pushed him back. She felt horrible for manhandling an old man but he was poking her with a needle! She had no other option left!

"Merthin have you gone nutters?!" Jade asked, seeing him twirl the needle in his fingers.

"No, but your reflexes seem to be slow." Merthin said retracting back. Jade scooted away farther away from him, watching him very carefully. She couldn't believe he was doing this to her. When Merthin made a move towards her, Jade sharply went in for his hand but the needle went flying out of his hand before she went to touch him.

"Are you trying to be funny? I'm not having a great time you know. There are a lot of things bothering me and I don't need someone to stick needles in me to make my life even more depressing as it is." Jade said. Merthin grinned, revealing his long sharp teeth.

"You my child have just performed your first spell without the use of a wand or your voice." Merthin said. Jade felt her eyes widen.

"What? Me?" Jade asked seeing him nod.

"For wizards who _practice_, they are the ones that sharpen their skills in nonverbal spells without a wand. It is incredibly difficult when you first start, especially when you're expecting it. Feel as if I'm standing right behind you with a needle, ready to dig it into your flesh. You need that rush, that charge to activate the spell, only then can you succeed." Merthin said.

There was a heavy set of footsteps and Jade looked up to see Silvia walking into the oratory.

"Get up, someone needs to distribute food among the builders for their afternoon lunch." Silvia said.

Jade's heart sank as she thought of herself to be in front of Robert. It had been two weeks since she had last seen him and going to see him now wasn't something she was hoping for.

"I'll be there." Jade said. She turned to her side to see Merthin off but was surprised to see that he wasn't there.


	38. Peter and Annabelle's Engagement

Jade walked outside, carrying a basket of bread and ale. She rested the basket on a table that Oscar had brought out for her. Jade felt a tap on her shoulder and she saw Annabelle standing there, her face glowing brightly.

"Hey, I didn't see you." Jade said, making room for Annabelle to set the different types of meats for the men.

"Ello Jade, Annabelle." One of the builders greeted as he held out his plate.

"Hello Andrew." Jade said, giving him a piece of bread and ale. One by one, Jade and Annabelle gave out their food and soon, Peter, Tallis and Robert walked up to get their food.

"Jade, Annabelle." Peter greeted.

"Hello Peter." Jade said handing him his bread and ale.

"You look unhappy, Robert, what's wrong with you? Can't you keep your woman happy?" Peter asked jokingly. Robert gave Peter a dark look that Peter seemed to miss but Annabelle had caught it quickly. Annabelle lowered her spoon and looked at both Jade and Robert who seemed to be uncomfortable in front of each other.

"Oh sweetheart do not look so glum, it does not suit you. Here, I will give you something to smile about." Peter said. Robert turned around and left to find a place to sit so he didn't have to join their conversation.

"Hey Robert! You forgot your bread and ale!" Peter said. Robert only ignored him, sitting on a block of stone nearby.

"Hmph…funny man. I wonder what's gotten into him." Peter said.

"I don't know, but can I have more bread Jade?" Tallis asked, pushing Peter aside.

"Get on out of here lad!" Oscar yelled from behind. Tallis scurried off, leaving everyone to laugh.

"Can I make an announcement?" Peter asked, grasping everyone's attention.

"It better be quick." Oscar said. Peter chuckled and walked over to take Annabelle's hand.

"I am a very lucky man. I'd like to tell you all that Annabelle and I will be getting married!" Peter said.

"Aye!" the builders said raising their cups.

Jade was truly surprised of this announcement. She looked at Annabelle in sheer astonishment feeling happy and annoyed at the same time.

"How could you not have told me?" Jade asked, hitting Annabelle's shoulder. Annabelle blushed, giggling but Jade hugged her anyway.

"I'm so happy that you're happy. Peter will be an amazing husband to you and an amazing father for your child." Jade said. Annabelle bent over to Jade's stomach, pretending to listen to something from Jade's child. Annabelle looked up at Jade and motioned that Jade's baby approved of Peter as well. Jade cracked a smile and hugged Annabelle again. Peter took Annabelle away as people came up to them and congratulated them. Jade stood back, smiling at the engaged couple, her eyes occasionally moving to Robert who sat by himself, locking eyes with Jade and quickly looking away when he got caught.

"Yeh know…I used to fight with my wife a lot." Oscar said next to Jade. Jade turned towards Oscar, seeing him smile.

"She used to pick a fight with me at every damned thing she could get her hands on. What's happened with Robert and yeh?" Oscar asked. Jade shrugged, placing a hand over her belly.

"We're no more." Jade said. With that, Jade walked away, unable to participate in the festivities in honor of Annabelle and Peter.

Annabelle watched Jade leave and decided it was the best if Jade went to escape on her own. Annabelle wanted to bring Jade back to celebrate with the rest of them, but what good would it do to force someone to be somewhere they didn't want? Annabelle looked back at Robert who looked permanently upset, sitting by himself. No one bothered going near him. They understood he was already in a foul mood and if they tried to speak to him, he would only turn on them and snap. How could she have missed that there was something wrong with Jade and Robert? She hadn't seen Jade out with Robert for days and certainly never saw them speaking together. Jade locked herself in the oratory, but Annabelle only thought that Robert was there with her. After everyone had congratulated Annabelle and Peter, Annabelle took Peter away to tell him that Robert and Jade had split.

"What? Really?" Peter asked.

"I saw it too." Oscar said from behind them. Peter and Annabelle turned around to see Oscar sitting there with Helena right next to him.

"They've stopped seeing each other for a while now. When has Robert started to change Peter? You work with him, you should know when this all happened." Helena said. Peter frowned, shaking his head.

"I never really noticed actually." He said.

"O' course, I forget that we're talking to Tallis's brother." Oscar said.

"Oh Oscar." Helena said hitting Oscar's arm.

"The fact of the matter is, is that Jade and Robert are no longer seeing each other and neither have bothered to tell us about it. What could have they fought about?" Helena asked. Annabelle snapped her finger and exaggerated a baby bump on her stomach.

"Oh that's right! She's pregnant, but Robert's not the father!" Oscar said. Annabelle nodded but Peter was shocked.

"What! She's pregnant and the child isn't even his?" Peter asked.

"Yeh got a smart one Annabelle." Oscar said sarcastically. Peter gave Oscar a grim look and continued.

"How could she do that to him? How far along is she?" Peter asked. Annabelle held up 5 fingers.

"Months." Oscar added.

"5 months? And she's only known Robert for 3 months." Peter said seeing them nod.

"So she's never told him that she's been expecting? You know I've never had respect for women like her. She's made Robert fall in love with her and expected him to raise some bastard-"

"Hold on there lad!" Oscar said getting up and pointing at Peter. "She isn't that type of girl." Oscar said.

"Oscar's right. Jade isn't what you think she is Peter. Jade's always genuinely cared about Robert for as long as I can remember. Spending time with her every day, I can tell you on my honor as a woman, Jade won't do something like that to Robert." Helena said. Annabelle touched Peter's hand and nodded, agreeing to every word her mother had told him.

Annabelle soon went back into her room to see Jade lying on the floor, trying to fall asleep. Jade glanced up to see Annabelle walking in, watching her.

"Hey." Jade said. Annabelle crouched down and asked what was wrong between her and Robert. Jade frowned at Annabelle's question and rolled over to the other side.

"I don't want to talk about it." Jade mumbled. Annabelle pulled Jade back to facing her and furiously motioned for Jade to speak.

"We just had a fight, that's all!" Jade said, feeling overwhelmed. Jade sharply turned back to her side, hearing Annabelle sit still. Jade felt horrible for pushing Annabelle like that, she really shouldn't have, Annabelle was only trying to help her and ease her pain. Jade heard Annabelle pile up the fresh straw that had been prepared today and rest on it, not bothering to further go on with Jade. Annabelle lied on her back, watching the torches on the wall burn. She thought about her life and how she would be able to marry Peter and live in her own place and make a family of her own.

"I told him about the baby…he doesn't want to see me anymore because of that." Jade said. Annabelle turned her head, seeing Jade move to her back. "He was really angry and thought the reason why I told him was because I needed a father there for this child…can you believe that?" Jade asked, looking at Annabelle who shook her head.

"I thought I knew him, but I understood why he could be so angry…but to blame me like that was completely uncalled for." Jade said. Annabelle patted Jade's arm and signed that Robert looked truly upset for what had happened but Jade shook her head.

"He'll do better without me." Jade sighed.


	39. Eggs

Two months had passed and Jade's stomach blew up and there was no denying that she was carrying a child. The builders were flabbergasted and talks about why Robert never bothered to take care of Jade. Peter had told Annabelle that the builders weren't really pleased to see Robert not taking responsibility for leaving Jade around after impregnating her. Peter himself wanted to tell the builders that the child that Jade was carrying wasn't even Robert's child, but another man's, but Robert stopped him from doing so. Peter felt frustrated, wondering why Robert would ruin his reputation as a Master Builder for a woman like Jade.

Robert never spoke openly to Peter about Jade, but he never wanted to hear a bad thing out of Peter's mouth about her and since Jade was like Annabelle's sister, Peter could never really say much in front of Annabelle either. So Peter stood quiet, still thinking it was unjust for Robert to put his respect on the line because of a woman.

On the other hand, Merthin had begun to supervise Jade's practice on magic without a wand. It was incredibly hard for Jade to grasp, especially for the fact that she couldn't even summon an egg for the past two months. The most she had done with it was to make it shudder; or so she thought.

"It moved!" Jade yelped, pointing to the egg that sat on an egg holder. She looked around for Merthin who crawled out from under the table, rubbing his head.

"That was actually I. The table was in my way." He said, still rubbing the spot on his head. Jade frowned and looked back at the egg.

"I can't do it. I'm already exhausted as it is. Do you have any food?" Jade asked looking around. Merthin held out his hand and the food from another table zoomed towards Jade and rested on her lap.

"You will do it. You managed to move a needle; you will move an egg any day now." He said sitting next to her. Jade shrugged and popped a grape in her mouth, holding it towards Merthin who shook his head.

"The Queen is still in search of the Philosopher's Stone." He said. Jade scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Tell her I wish her the best of luck. Wizards and witches have been killing to acquire the Stone for centuries now." Jade said.

"What am I to do? I cannot find Nicolas Flamel anywhere." Merthin said. Jade turned towards him and placed a hand on his.

"The last thing anyone needs is the Queen's immortality. Tell her you can't find Flamel or any way to keep her alive." Jade said.

"She slays unicorns to keep herself alive. She kills these beautiful defenseless creatures." He said. Jade suddenly felt her lose her appetite. She put her plate down and looked at the egg in the egg holder.

"Tells you a lot about her character doesn't it?" Jade asked. Her hands pressed together and Jade felt her body tremor slightly. At the same moment, the egg flew out of the egg holder and exploded against the wall. Surprised, Merthin turned towards Jade.

"I've told you the egg would move any day now."

* * *

Being seven months pregnant in the Middle Ages while a tyrant hovered over your shoulder never did anyone much good and it certainly wasn't helping Jade who couldn't complete a small task without using every ounce of effort in herself. Annabelle and Peter was getting married tomorrow and Jade still hadn't finished stringing the fresh cut flowers to put around the fence of Peter's home a small distance away from the castle of Castile. Robert had been in the backyard with the other men as they created tables and pulled up an altar for the wedding. There had been a couple of embarrassing run ins with him once in a while but the two had tried to avoid it, looking away from each other and apologizing briefly about their inconvenience to the other.

"Ow, my back is killing me." Jade moaned, rubbing her lower back. Annabelle looked up and smiled at Jade.

"You honestly have no idea how excited I am for you love…but on the other hand, I'm going to miss you very much." Jade said.

Annabelle smiled at Jade with sad eyes and held up Jade's hand, kissing it softly. She then pointed to herself, Jade and motioned towards Peter, indicating that they all live together. Jade burst into laughter and covered her mouth as she rocked back in forth.

"Oh I don't know about that Belle. Peter is the one wife in one life type. Oh! Did you get to speak to Helena about your dress?" Jade asked seeing Annabelle shaking her head wildly. Jade went to open her mouth to say something but Oscar appeared, calling for Annabelle.

"Peter wants yeh…the fool's inviting nobodies to eat all that good food and wine and not even remember him in the morning!" Oscar said. Annabelle motioned to Jade that she would be back and left with Oscar who told Jade that Peter didn't trust him well enough to finish the leftover food and wine by himself so he had to invite other people. Jade chuckled, seeing Oscar and Annabelle walk away and she looked down at her finished string of flowers.

"Good Merlin, finally." Jade said to herself as she slowly got up. She looked up to the edges of the roof where the flowers were supposed to go. Knowing she couldn't get up there, Jade looked around for help but everyone was busy. She walked into the backyard, seeing that the builders were busy with their work except for Tallis who sat there, half heartedly sketching on the ground with a stone in his hand.

"Tallis?" Jade asked seeing Tallis sit straight up and look at her.

"Yes Jade?" Tallis asked politely.

"Tallis would you please help me hang these flowers? I really can't do this without some help." Jade said, placing a hand on her stomach. Tallis smiled brightly and dropped his stone, walking over to Jade.

"I'd love to help!" he said. Jade smiled and went to leave with him but a voice stopped them both.

"Just where do you think you're going?"

Jade turned around to see Robert standing in front of them, looking mildly angry. His eyes were set on Tallis but Jade knew that she was the actual one deserving his anger; he was just too disgusted to look at her.

"I actually asked Tallis for-"

"I was speaking to _Tallis_." Robert cut in, his eyes still on Tallis who started to shake in fear at the way Robert had been staring at him.

"You sit here and do your work. You're my apprentice and I don't want you going anywhere." Robert said. Tallis turned to Jade who gave Robert a curious look.

"I'm only asking for his help Robert. Tallis wasn't even doing anything." Jade said, seeing Robert flinch when she said his name.

"Whatever he does or does not do, definitely does not concern you." Robert said.

Jade stood there, feeling just like she had been when he first left her; torn into pieces. If he was going to act this way to her, so be it, she's had worse. Jade placed a hand on Tallis's shoulder and gave him an encouraging smile.

"It's okay, I'm sorry if I've gotten you into any trouble. Do what your Master says…and thank you." Jade said. Tallis frowned at Jade and placed a hand on hers.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help you." Tallis said seeing Jade nod. She turned around and left back to where she had come from.

"Go back to work." Robert said sternly. Tallis turned to Robert and clenched his jaw tightly.

"I do not want to do this anymore!" Tallis exclaimed. Robert narrowed his eyes at Tallis and folded his arms.

"You had better have a good explanation on telling me what that meant." Robert said. Tallis swallowed nervously but regained his stance.

"I do have a good explanation but you might not like it. People think I am stupid and always put me away to the side to watch. My brother is getting married tomorrow and you would not even let me hang up a string of _flowers_! You are _always_ leaving me out from doing work and giving me these small chores to do. I am not a baby yet you insist on treating me like one. And when someone truly needs my help, you will gladly be there to say no to them! I can understand you have had your fair share of fights with your lady but do not put it out on me. With that said, I resign from you. I will resume my apprenticeship with another Master Builder, but I cannot work with you any longer." Tallis said.

Robert was gob smacked at Tallis's outburst and had absolutely no idea how to answer back. Before anything could enter either of their minds, a bloodcurdling scream from the front of the house was heard.

"Jade!" Robert yelled, sprinting out of the backyard and to the front where Jade was lying on her back, her eyes wide with terror.

"Jade!" Robert roared, picking her up. "Sweetheart can you move? Do you feel any pain? Oh God I hate myself." Robert said, holding Jade close to his chest.

Jade blinked, feeling the shock of her fall fade away and another take over her. Robert was holding her in his arms and he just called her sweetheart! Jade had been on a stool, fixing the strings on house. Suddenly, the stool had given away under her weight, sending her flying down. The sudden rush of emotions had triggered a hovering spell that kept her hovering in the air and set gently down on the ground without a scratch or even a bruise. Robert carried her into Peter's home and set Jade on a cot, asking her repeatedly if she was all right.

"I'm fine! Stop worrying. Nothing's happened to me at all, my foot just slipped." Jade explained, sitting up on the cot. Robert didn't seem to buy her story and even if she _had_ told him the truth, he still wouldn't believe her.

"Your foot slipped? How could you be so stupid Jade? You're 7 months pregnant and you suddenly figure you could stand on a stool and hang flowers around the house? Why couldn't you just ask-" he stopped himself from further embarrassing himself. Blood crept to Robert's cheeks and he looked away from her feeling horrible for what he had done.

"It's all right. Nothing's happened to me…I wasn't even on the stool, just on the first bar." Jade said.

"This is all my fault. Something terrible could have happened to you because of me." He said. Jade wanted to make him feel better but she refrained from touching him. She didn't want to upset him like she did earlier.

"Robert it wasn't your fault. I should have known better and waited for Oscar or Peter to come back to hang it up for me. I was being careless." Jade said. Robert shook his head and rubbed his face.

"Tallis was right…I _am_ horrible. I never stopped to think what would happen to you if I never allowed him to help. I cannot believe myself." Robert said.

"What's happened to Jade?" Peter asked walking in with Annabelle.

"She fell from the stool! She's giving birth right away and the baby looks like Robert!" Tallis shrieked.

"A baby?!" Oscar yelled.

They all approached Jade and Robert and Oscar looked disappointed that there wasn't even a birthing scene.

"Get on out of here…donkey!" Oscar said, hitting Tallis who dashed off in embarrassment. Annabelle sat next to Jade and held her hand, looking confused and worried at the same time. Jade repeated the story to Annabelle, Peter and Oscar but Robert insisted that it was his fault that this happened. Annabelle was thoroughly annoyed at Robert but Jade the most. She left looking upset and Jade looked back to Oscar who shrugged.

"We need teh get back teh the Castle anyways. The wedding's tomorrow and she needs to get her sleep. Come on love, I'll walk yeh." Oscar said holding out a hand for Jade who took it and stood up.

"I'm sorry about that Peter. I'll get her smiling again for the big day tomorrow." Jade said seeing Peter nod.

"It's all right. I hope you are not hurt." Peter said seeing Jade shake her head.

"Not at all. I'm perfectly fine, thank you. Take care." Jade said to Peter who nodded. Jade looked at Robert who had his arms folded and bit his nail from the nervousness.

"Goodnight." Jade said to Robert.

"I'll accompany you if you'd like." Robert said. Jade looked at Oscar who shook his head.

"It's fine, we need to head back to the castle as quickly as we can. Thank yeh for yer offer." Oscar said leaving. Jade followed Oscar who signaled the horsekeeper to bring their horse. Jade stood there as Oscar reigned in the horse and with the help of Robert, Peter and Oscar, Jade was safely perched on the horse. Oscar mounted as well behind Jade and thanked both Peter and Robert for their help.

"See yeh tomorrow!" Oscar said.

"Will do." Peter said, waving at them. Robert kept his eyes on Jade, fearing that even the horse would become a threat to her and the child. With a swift kick, the horse started to trot off along with the others, returning to the castle of Castile.

Oscar helped Jade off the horse when they had returned to the castle. Annabelle waited for Jade and the two slowly walked back into the castle to prepare for the day ahead.

"My feet are so sore." Jade said, slowly sitting on the bed of straw. Annabelle yawned letting her mother braid her hair for her.

"Have a good night's rest dear. We must wake early in the morning for the wedding. That includes you Annabelle." Helena said, poking Annabelle on the shoulder who wrinkled her face. Jade smiled and went to turn around to sleep but her eye caught Jody hovering close to the doorway, smirking. Silvia appeared, pushing Jody out of the way, her eyes fixed on Jade.

"I've been sent by her Majesty the Queen herself. _You_ girl, will be serving dinner and wine for the King and Queen themselves." She said. Jade sat up from her straw bed, feeling her mouth drop. Helena and Annabelle sat still silently, watching in horror.

"She won't be pleased if she is kept waiting. _Get up_." Silvia ordered.


	40. Hovering

Jade followed behind Silvia, feeling her stomach twisting and turning. Her heart hammered inside of her and her legs started to drain from energy. She hadn't a clue whether or not Draco knew if she was pregnant or not and she certainly didn't know about the Queen. Jade thought of why the Queen would want her so suddenly, after all these months? Jade had started to feel safe and almost thought the Queen had forgotten about her but this didn't seem so. The Queen obviously was up to something. Silvia led Jade to the kitchens where there was a cart waiting for her.

"Appetizers first before anything. Once I give you the wave, you serve their dinner and clean as soon as I tell you." Silvia said coldly.

Jade shrugged and gently pushed the cart forward, walking out of the kitchens. Silvia muttered a hearty bunch of curses at Jade as they walked together towards the Great Hall. Jade clutched the handles of the cart and took a deep breath before entering the Great Hall to see Draco for the first time since 7 months.

Draco sat next to his wife Castile and gave her a light smile. He was getting tired of acting that he loved her and was definitely tired of being in this place. For a while, ever since he had gotten Jade out of his sights, he had a hard time trying to understand what he would do. The truth of the matter was, was that he cared about Jade whether he liked it or not. He tried to play along with Castile and tried to get her to believe that he loved her but there was a limit for everyone and Castile had overridden that limit. It didn't take long for Draco to realize that the Queen's strongest ally and confidant was Merthin the wizard.

He had been watching Merthin try to meet with the Queen to feed her information about Jade and since then Draco had been formulating a plan to break the two apart. To ensure Jade's safety, Draco needed to get Merthin away from Jade. His plan had worked when the Queen herself told him the way she had murdered Merthin's wife and children for her gain. To Draco's luck, Merthin had been standing behind the door, listening to her every word and Draco merely stroked her mane to make things worse. It was right after the incident that had occurred when Draco paid a visit to Merthin and struck a deal that would help them out of Castile.

Now, Draco looked around, feeling his stomach start to rumble for food. The sound of the rolling cart entered the room and he straightened up, sighing loudly.

"Finally. I wondered what happened to the food." Draco said, playing with his bejeweled cufflink.

"I agree my love. Why has it taken so long today?" Castile asked, her long, sharp and wrinkled hands exposed on the table. Draco was sometimes terrified of the old woman who reminded him of a vampire, but the ugliest, most terrifying and dangerous out there.

"The girl needed to be fetched." Silvia said, signaling Jade to serve the appetizer platters.

Jade picked up both platters, her throat drying instantly. She could see the soft crop of Draco's platinum blonde hair and the glint of his golden crown. Draco let his eyes wander to the tapestries of the walls, wondering what Jade might have been doing now. Ever since that night, Draco honestly had tried to fight her off of his mind but he soon stopped fighting with himself. He couldn't stop thinking about her or what she was doing. His food was placed in front of him and the cover was lifted to expose a steaming broth. Draco immediately delved into his soup, completely oblivious of the fact that Jade was watching, just a feet away from him.

Jade was almost relieved to see that Draco didn't even once look her way. She only needed to hand in their dinner and dessert and she was out of there, but what if the Queen wanted her there every day? Jade saw the Queen watching her with a severe glare that could have melted Jade into a pool of bubbling nothingness. As Draco and Castile were finished with their broth, Silvia signaled as she took away the platters.

Jade held her breath as she took the main courses from the cart. All she needed to do was to set the plates down and not attract any attention from Draco. Jade placed the platter in front of the Queen and when she went to place the platter down in front of Draco, the platter knocked against the goblet, tipping it over and letting it fall. Draco jumped from his seat as Jade pulled out a towel and stopped the wine from falling on the floor or all over Draco's clothes.

"I'm so sorry." Jade apologized. Silvia ran towards the table and pushed Jade away, apologizing on her behalf of Jade.

Draco suddenly felt as if he had been electrocuted. Every muscle in his body knotted together as he saw Jade standing right in front of him with a large belly. Everything stopped in his body as the realization started to slowly creep its way into his brain. She was _pregnant_ and this was a cruel joke. Was this _his_ child that she was carrying? He couldn't understand what was the most appropriate way to react by seeing her the first time in months. He noticed little changes about her but the biggest change was sticking right out to tell him. Jade only held Draco's gaze for a moment before looking back down again.

She felt strangely sad and wished that he would have come to hug her and tell her how happy he was for the both of them, that they both were having a child. Robert flashed through Jade's mind. Even though this was the most bizarre time for Robert to appear in Jade's mind, she felt she could use the comfort of either any one of them. Draco quickly looked at the Queen, seeing her give him a calculated look. She was evaluating _him_, not Jade. This was a test. Draco didn't want to throw away months of planning and feigning love, especially the countless nights that he had to sleep with her. Draco immediately masked whatever emotion he had and brought his face back to neutral again. Draco calmly sat down in his seat, fighting the burning rage inside of him. Castile had been keeping Jade's pregnancy a secret for all this time. For all this time, he had a child he didn't even know about while everyone else in the world had seen and heard.

"It's been a while since I've seen you. Pregnant are you?" Draco forced out.

He was going to hurt her again like he had before. His heart sunk as he mustered up the courage to continue to prove to Castile that he didn't feel anything for Jade, just to keep her safe. Draco looked up and as soon as he did, he wished he hadn't. Jade stood there, her big brown eyes fighting to hold back tears. She looked incredibly miserable and thin. Her face was darker than he had last seen her, she looked horrible.

"I'm surprised you've decided to keep it. Go on now, get out of here. Don't come within my sight again. Castile I'm warning you, if I ever see this girl anywhere near me, I'll kill her." Draco said. He pushed his platter away from him, got up and left, unable to suppress his emotions that had started to bubble out like lava in a volcano.

Jade watched Draco storm out on her just the way Robert had left when she told him she was pregnant. She thought she couldn't feel any more worse, but things took a turn, this was Draco. Jade looked down at Castile who rose from her chair with a smirk on her lips.

"And yet you still have the nerve to let yourself live." Castile said. Jade stood there silently as Castile walked away towards the door.

"I've won everything from you. This is my Queendom and this will go exactly the way I want it to be. You've lost and very soon, you will lose everything up to your very soul if I must. Dumbledore and Grindelwald may have surely deceived me but I will not let that happen again. Henry is mine and you will always be a servant." She hissed. Castile turned around and left, leaving only Silvia and Jade in the room.

"You cannot underestimate your Majesty's power…scum." Silvia spat, leaving the dirt plates and the cart for Jade to handle.

Everyone had left and only Jade stood there, not feeling like she wanted to do anything at the moment. There was no one that she wanted to go to that could make her feel better, not even Annabelle. She slowly placed the dishes and goblets on the cart and wheeled it away to the kitchens where she washed them off from a bucket of water and dried them off. Jade walked off, not bothering to go back to sleep. It was one of those times in a person's life where they didn't want to bother with anything. Jade didn't want to sleep, talk or do anything. She just wanted to be alone by herself on the roof of the castle.

Jade pushed through the heavy wooden door of the castle roof. It swung open and a gust of wind hit Jade as she stood there, breathing the fresh air. It felt so refreshing, as if whatever had happened today had been blown out into the wind. Jade closed the door behind her and onto the cold stone floor of the roof. The night was beautiful, brilliant and dark. It was something that Jade had never seen before in all her life. The skies in Hogwarts hadn't even been this beautiful. The 1300's, where the skies were free of muggle factory smoke stacks or any pollution. Jade wanted to be there, she wanted to be anywhere but here. Jade walked over to the ledge and looked far down towards the ground. She only needed to let go and in one fall, she would be instantly killed. Jade placed a hand on her stomach, trying to think about the injustice she was going to do the baby.

"I can't have you here. I can't ruin your life by giving you away to her. Either way you'll be taken away from me and she'll win like she said she would. I can't raise you to be like her…I can't." Jade whispered. She felt a small nudge from her stomach and she smiled, rubbing her stomach in circles.

"You know I love you. I love you enough not to do this to you. Please forgive me." Jade said.

She lifted herself on the ledge and felt her head go light and her stomach twist from the height. What was Robert going to think? How would he feel? Jade felt that Robert was mistaken. After he knew who she truly was and what was really going on with her, he was smart enough to walk away from her. Jade knew he would find a woman that would suit him. She wouldn't come with warning labels or have a ridiculous past, present and future. Jade thought about Annabelle and was reminded that Annabelle was to be married tomorrow morning. Because of Jade, Annabelle would postpone the wedding to grieve for her friend, so who was Jade to ruin Annabelle's wedding?

"Don't you do it." A rough voice said behind Jade who jumped. Jade turned around to see Merthin standing there, his hands out, as if he was ready to save her at the moment she fell.

"You're making a big mistake. You MUST step down and think rationally." Said Merthin. Jade bit her lip from sobbing and nodded. "Please take my hand." Merthin said reaching his hand forward.

Jade went to take it but a sudden blast of air had pushed Jade off the ledge and she fell backwards, screaming. All of a sudden, her body stood still and Jade opened her eyes to see that she was suspended in the air, just like she had been when she fell from the ladder, earlier today. Jade looked up to see Merthin gaping at her, floating in front of him.

"How are you doing that?" Merthin asked Jade who looked around. Hovering 13 stories above ground was very uncomfortable. Jade looked at Merthin and concentrated on him, feeling her body slowly elevate.

"It's working. I'm actually…floating." Jade said, feeling herself float back to the roof again. Merthin smiled, watching in fascination.

"This is incredible!" he said. Jade rested her feet gently on the ground and turned around to see the height of which she was going to fall from just a few seconds earlier.

"Now aren't you happy you've met me?" Merthin asked.


	41. Bouquets

Annabelle woke up the next morning by Jade who seemed unusually bright eyed and happy after a very long time.

"Don't look at me like you don't know what today is! Get up!" Jade said pulling Annabelle up. "You've got to take a bath and your wedding dress that your Mum and I had worked on is with her. Come on Belle! Let's not make Peter wait any longer!" Jade said guiding Annabelle out of the castle.

Jade along with a couple of the other servants of the castle had warmed up the water for Annabelle's bath and washed her thoroughly. Annabelle smiled, listening to all the women scrub her feet, legs, arms, fingers and her whole body clean, speaking about married life.

"And think of all the babies you'll have. I for one cannot wait for your child to be born so we can see our children running around together." Jade said, smiling as she rinsed Annabelle's hair. After the bath, Annabelle had been rubbed lightly with aromatic oils that Oscar and a few other men had managed to buy from the Fair in town. It smelled of roses, giving a fresh scent and a beautiful glow on her skin. After the oils had sunk in, Annabelle's hair had dried and the women immediately started their work on her hair. Jade sat by, looking helpless because of the lack of knowledge she held for creating hairstyles.

"Where is Annabelle?" Helena asked, appearing outside. Annabelle turned around and gasped at the white dress that Helena held with beautiful blue sequins and patterns. Loops and luscious artwork spread throughout the entire dress, making it look beautiful. Annabelle looked at her mother who jerked her chin towards Jade.

"I've only put together your dress sweetheart; Jade's done a magnificent job with the prints." Helena said. Annabelle turned around, seeing Jade smile wholeheartedly.

"Go on! Let's see how it looks on you!" Jade said. As soon as Annabelle was dressed and ready, Helena handed Jade a clean and long light green dress with short sleeves. The mid section hugged her stomach, making her pregnancy more prominent. After last night, Jade decided to get a grip of her own life. The horror had sunk in a few hours later when she realized that she was going to kill herself and her child so she changed her outlook. She didn't need Robert or Draco for this child, as long as this child had _her_ and she had this child; that was all she ever wanted.

"You look beautiful." Helena said seeing Jade grin and smooth out her dress with her hands. "Oh! I completely forgot about the bouquet! This is a disaster-"

"Relax Helena! I'll arrange the bouquet right now, just tell Oscar to wait for me, I don't want to be left behind you know." Jade said as Helena giggled.

"Silly little woman. Why would we leave you? We'll wait for you and the bouquet. Please hurry!" Helena said as Jade left the room.

Robert arrived in front of the castle with the entire bandwagon, singing and playing music for the bride. Robert looked around for Jade, seeing that she wasn't there. Robert pulled himself out of the wagon and greeted Oscar and Helena.

"Robert! Good to see yeh! We're all ready to go now." Oscar said, clapping Robert's shoulder.

"Yes we are. Annabelle up you go." Helena said.

Tallis went to enter the wagon before Annabelle but was yanked from behind by Oscar.

"The _bride_. Goodness gracious." Oscar said.

Robert helped Annabelle onto the wagon and made sure she was comfortable and secure. He still glanced around to see that Jade wasn't there and started to get anxious. Was it because of him that she didn't want to attend her best friend's wedding?

"Hop on Bride's mother, then _you_ can get on, Groom's dumb brother." Oscar said to Tallis who scowled.

"I'm not dumb! Pick on someone your own age!" Tallis said. Oscar shrugged.

"I can't, they are all dead."

"Oh stop it you two!" Helena said.

Everyone else giggled, feeling the festive atmosphere but all Robert could think about was Jade.

"Is that all? No one else is coming?" Robert asked. Oscar looked around, his mouth formed into a shrug.

"We're all here. No one else is missing." Oscar said. Robert didn't want to look desperate or anxious. How could they have missed Jade?

"Oh! Jade! I've sent Jade to arrange a bouquet for Annabelle! She should be here soon. Oscar could you go to see if she needs help?" Helena asked. Robert looked at Oscar who held his stare. Oscar must have seen something on Robert's face so he bent forward and rubbed his lower back.

"Ah! Me back!" Oscar groaned. "I don't think I can walk so far. I'll just take a seat here on this wagon and ask one of our strong boys here to fetch Jade." Oscar said, looking at Robert. If there had been a tomato next to Robert, Robert would surely have put that tomato to shame.

"I'll go and look for her!" Tallis said going to leave but Oscar lurched forward and pulled him back.

"I said one of our strong boys! And yeh wonder why yeh get picked on!" Oscar said. Helena shook her head and raised her hand towards Robert.

"Robert will you please get Jade?" Helena asked. Everyone's eyes were on him. They were waiting what he would say to get the woman he had once loved. Without a word, Robert turned around and walked away towards the castle. He looked around the castle grounds, around the gardens where the herbs and flowers grew. Hearing two low voices speaking to each other furiously.

"Stop! Just don't even come near me anymore!" Robert heard Jade say. He heard a male voice respond and Robert peeked from the corner of the castle walls to see Jade standing there, with the King of Castile.


	42. Peter and Annabelle's Wedding

Draco kept trying to pull Jade close after sneaking up on her in the garden. He had wanted to see her again after what happened last night but didn't have a clue of how he would have done it. Seeing her through the windows, walking around with a handful of flowers and herbs, Draco immediately went out looking for her. As soon as he touched her shoulder, she turned around and her eyes grew wide with shock.

"Jade." He said, touching her face but Jade slapped his hand away and stepped back.

"Stop! Just don't even come near me anymore!" Jade said. Draco stood away from Jade and looked down to her stomach.

"I know you're mad-"

"Mad?! Mad? You think I'm _mad? _I'm upright fucking _furious_! You _left_ me that night. You treated me like a whore." Jade said. She swung at his face and struck him as hard as she could. Draco stumbled when Jade hit him and looked dumbstruck.

Robert jumped from his corner, his expression stuck as if Jade was the one that hit him. Was she out of her bloody mind? She just struck the King! Robert went to move to save her but the King only smiled.

All these months of hard labor and suffrage gave her enough strength to let Draco taste the blood in his mouth. He wiped the corner of his mouth from the blood and looked up at Jade who softened her expression but quickly changed it when she saw him smiling.

"Nice right hook." He said, stretching his jaw. Jade pushed past him but Draco turned around and grabbed her by the arm. He brought her close and hovered his face over hers. "I know what you think of me but I can explain." He said. Jade tried to squirm and push him away but he held on to her tightly.

"I know what your kind likes to explain. You'll explain the same thing to me. You'll use anything that's private against me. That's exactly the type of person you are. Everything I had buried inside of me _should_ have been inside but you blew it up in my face. Do you _know_ how it feels to stand there when someone's ridiculing you for something so personal? You had no right to say those things to me. You definitely had no right to leave for all this time and come back. I'm not going to forgive you for hurting me, especially leaving me in a state like this." Jade said feeling the tears run down her cheeks. Draco shook his head, going to explain.

"Jade I didn't know you were pregnant. Castile never told me that you were pregnant. She didn't even look surprised when I saw you last night." He said.

Jade tried not to look at him. The more she was listening to him, the more she started to fall again. Just last night she had come out of her depression and started a new life, why did he have to come to mess things up again?

"I don't know what you're playing at. You change so quickly. You can't make your mind up sometimes and that scares me; it even hurts me sometimes. Please go and help yourself. You seemed pretty comfortable with that old crypt keeper and you're back after 7 months for Merlin knows what." Jade said.

"I know you still feel for me. Don't deny it. You want me because you've missed me. That's just what I'm telling you Jade, I've missed you too. If I had known earlier that we were having a child together I would have-"

"Would have what? Found the Portkey that we were looking for all this time to escape, because I'd like that too. Where are you going to find the Portkey anyway Malfoy? Are you going to ask your sweet little wife for it, because I'm pretty damn sure she'd give it to you for us to leave." Jade said sarcastically. She smirked, seeing Draco slowly start to change his expression. He was starting to get upset, but that was what he should have thought about. What was he thinking, giving Jade false promises like that?

"And what if I found it? What would you do then?" Draco asked.

Jade shrugged, looking down at the handful of herbs and flowers. The different scents, sharp, soft, musky and fresh all wafted up Jade's nose as she spoke.

"I'd want you to leave without me." Jade said. Draco rolled his eyes at Jade but couldn't sense her sarcasm. She stood there, watching him silently. She saw him start to realize that she had meant it seriously.

"What? Why?" he asked.

"Annabelle's getting married Draco. She's also pregnant and I can't leave her. I love her too much now to leave this place." Jade said, feeling her throat start to throb. Draco closed his eyes tightly, shaking his head.

"I don't understand. You've only known her for a few months and you're already _attached_ to her? You're willing to leave your entire life behind to live here? You'd rather to stay with her than to ever have to see me again?" Draco asked.

"It's not all about you Draco. If it's one thing that I've ever learned about you, is that you're inconsiderate and arrogant and that's what stops you from making any type of relationship successful. I wouldn't mind if I had to live under the Queen, as long as I had Annabelle with me. You disappeared on me Draco and you didn't even come back to see how I was doing. Because this is your baby, you felt the need to restore whatever we had. Again, you were thinking about yourself and not about me." Jade said going to leave. She turned back around and pointed a finger at him.

"And let me remind you that it was because of _you_ that I'm here. You wanted to send me here and we both ended up here. You're the reason why Robert's walked off on me and he was a real gentleman. He was the _only_ man that treated me like I was at least some worth of respect." She said.

Draco immediately narrowed his eyes at the mention of Robert's name.

"Who's Robert?" Draco asked.

Jade rearranged the bouquet in her hands, lifted her chin a fraction of an inch and walked away from Draco. Jade immediately felt Draco's hands on her upper arms as he wheeled her around and pulled her close.

"Who is he?" Draco hissed.

"That's none of your business Malfoy now let me go!" Jade said, trying to fight him off but he instead dragged her off and pinned her against the castle walls.

"It's very well my business. The mother of my child is going around, seeing Merlin knows who, what does he do? He treats you like a gentleman? Does he know whose baby you're carrying or does he think it's his?" Draco asked.

Jade felt the top of her head explode like a train's exhaust. She clenched her teeth tightly together to stabilize herself from trembling rage. Draco crashed his lips against hers, trying to change her mind about Robert. He couldn't feel her getting weak like she always had done before and this started to make him feel nervous. Draco pulled back to see Jade glaring at him, her expression intense and hostile.

"How dare you." Jade hissed. Draco only held her tighter against the wall, pressing himself lightly against her.

"It doesn't matter if he knows whose baby it is, I feel safer with him than when I'm with you. You're nothing but scum compared to him. And I wouldn't ever trap a man to support me or my child. I don't need _anyone_'s help or assistance, especially not yours!"

Draco was suddenly pushed back with an inexplicable force. He looked up, seeing Jade give him another hard look. She turned around and left.

Robert quickly walked away, hiding himself from Jade as she walked past him. Thousands of questions flew through his mind. There were some things that they said that didn't make sense to them. The only thing that did make sense was the fact that Jade loved him, even after he had broken everything off from her.

Jade approached the large red wagons with musicians, singers and the rest of the people ready for Annabelle and Peter's wedding.

"Jade! I thought the herbs had eaten you!" Helena said, taking the flowers and herbs from Jade.

"No, I had to fight through some weed. I'm all right now, Oscar will you please give me a hand?" Jade asked hitching up her dress to get into the wagon. Oscar got up to help Jade up but a pair of hands helped Jade on it easily. Jade looked back to see Robert smiling warmly at her. She returned the smile weakly. Their exchange was brief mainly because Tallis and Oscar had gone at it again.

"I thought you said your back broke!" Tallis complained. Oscar gave Tallis a blank look and turned back, nudging Helena.

"He's not as dumb as I gave him credit for." Oscar said.

Robert hoisted himself on to the wagon and gave the side a couple of strong hits for the horses to start trotting off. He looked back at Jade who sat next to him her eyes cast down and her cheeks still red. He could tell that the exchange between her and the King had upset her. There were so many things he wanted to ask her and to clear but right now he could only think of her. Stupidity was something Robert tried to avoid, even if his pride was on the line. However, during these days he never knew it was his pride that sank and his stupidity to soar. He couldn't believe himself to act that way towards a woman that he loved and needed him more than anyone else.

After the wagon reached Peter's house, everyone had gotten off. Jade tried to act calm when Robert was especially nice to her. She figured he was feeling guilty for yesterday's episode. Everyone in Peter's town had came by to see the couple marry.

"She looks so beautiful." A woman crooned next to Jade.

"Splendid! I've always known Peter would bring home a beautiful bride." Another said.

"Yes well, now it's Tallis's turn…"

Everyone looked at each other, gave a grimace and walked away in separate directions. Jade looked away to see Robert chuckling not too far away. When he saw her frowning at him, he instantly dropped his smile and tried to look neutral again.

After Annabelle and Peter had gotten married, everyone congratulated the couple and celebrated with a feast. Jade hugged her good friend and Peter was nice enough to hug and thank Jade as well. They sat together and ate while Robert, Peter and a few other of the men that they worked with ate and spoke.

"I'm really going to miss you in that castle." Jade said, picking at a chicken leg, unable to eat anymore. Annabelle smiled sadly and took Jade's hand, squeezing it gently. She placed the hand on the left side of her chest and pointed to her.

_'I'm always with you.'_

After the feast was finished, the gypsies started to play music and everyone was ready for a dance. Annabelle was scooped away by Peter who looked like the happiest man alive. Everyone clapped and cheered for the newlyweds, dancing around them and soon paired off to dance with each other. Robert was asked by Helena to dance with him and he agreed since he had no one else to dance with. Jade looked nowhere near ready to dance in her stage.

"No more! No more! My bones are going to break!" Helena said, pounding Robert's shoulder.

"Ow! Gracious Helena, if I'm ever going to marry you, I'm going to need you to dance at our wedding!" Robert joked. Everyone nearby laughed and Helena slapped his arm.

"Don't try to flirt with an old lady; I might put the eye on you!" Helena said walking past. Robert looked around to see that Jade hadn't been around.

"Edna did you see Jade anywhere?" Robert asked. Edna smiled pleasantly at Robert and pointed to Peter's house.

"She's inside with Tallis, bringing the sweets out. Although I wish you can go to help them…I wouldn't trust Tallis even if I was crippled and lost both eyes." Edna said. Robert gave Edna a brief smile and left to find Jade.

"Tallis can you get that for me? And really be careful about the sweet dough." Jade said, arranging the sweets on to platters. She turned around to get another tray of sweet dough from Tallis but found him standing there, his lips puckered exaggeratedly and his eyes closed tight.

"What are you doing?" Jade asked. Tallis opened his eyes and gave a short sigh.

"What Robert did to you was not right. You are a very nice woman that doesn't deserve to be put through things like this. That is why I want to tell you that I am willing to take care of you and your baby. And that you do not deserve someone cold and heartless like Robert. I will marry you and love you." Tallis said. Jade looked into his innocent blue eyes, feeling choked up and proud of Tallis.

"You know you're a wonderful person? You have a lot of heart in you and it's important for other men to follow that." Jade said. Tallis looked confused but remained hopeful.

"So does that mean you'll marry me?" Tallis asked. Jade placed a hand on Tallis's cheek and smiled.

"Tallis this is not your responsibility. You have an entire life ahead of you and I'm not in there for you. I'm not your burden to carry." Jade said.

"But you're not a burden!" Tallis said. Jade only held up her hand and shook her head.

"Thank you Tallis. I appreciate everything you've done for me and everything you have to offer but trust me, you don't deserve me. You deserve a good life and with a partner of your choice and mind. You're too young now to understand but you'll see the light one day when you fall in love with that beautiful girl you've always deserved and who deserves you. And whatever happened between Robert and I does not concern you sweetheart. Robert is not cold and heartless…he's just done a right thing by leaving me. He deserves someone way above me." Jade said. Tallis stood still, his mouth turned into a frown.

"Then what do you get Jade?" Tallis asked.

Jade didn't know the answer to his question. She didn't know who she deserved. Possibly no one. A voice cleared in the kitchen. Jade and Tallis turned around to see Robert standing there, his face controlled but gave away the slightest hint of bleakness.

"Tallis would you give me a few minutes with Jade?" Robert asked. Tallis looked at Jade and turned back around to Robert, squinting his eyes him. Tallis left with the platters of sweet dough, closing the door behind him to allow Jade and Robert some privacy. Jade didn't know what to do, she was looking at Robert and her heart was the only thing she could feel that was alive in her body.

"Did you need something?" Jade asked.

"I needed to speak to you." Robert answered quickly. Jade nodded and Robert went to open his mouth to say something but couldn't find himself to tell her what he originally had intended to say.

"Do you need help with those platters?" he asked. Jade felt lost for a couple of seconds. As soon as he came through the doors, Jade hoped that he would talk about each other.

"Um…yeah. You can take the platters outside for everyone…and help yourself." Jade said. She saw the wash of red fill Robert's cheek and neck as he took the platters from the table and leave. Jade followed him out of the door and back into the backyard where everyone started to drink heavily.

"Robby boy! Have some of the…er…stuff!" a man said, handing Robert a mug of wine.

"Thank you. I'll need it." Robert said tipping the mug at him. The man grinned and walked away, cheering and swearing with everyone else. Robert turned to see Jade standing next to him, her hands folded together under the round of her pregnant belly. He drew up a chair for her and offered it to her.

"Thanks." Jade said, taking a seat. He chugged down his drink and was courteously refilled by the others. Jade watched him drink and figured that it was because he needed to get something off his chest. He stumbled a little in his place and Jade held him briefly by the arms.

"Are you all right? Do you need to sit?" Jade asked getting up. Robert only shook his head no and pushed Jade back to her seat.

"I'm perfect…I wonder how the French would say it." Robert said. He sat down on the ground and leaned himself on Jade's chair. Jade put her hand on his head, seeing him nestle himself in her lap.

"I really, really did miss you." he murmured. He looked up to see Jade look pleasant and angelic while listening to him.

"Did you miss me? You probably didn't miss me…I know you didn't miss me. After what I've done to you..." he said burying his head deeper into her lap. Jade stroked his hair softly, hearing him murmur something.

"I'm so sorry for doing those things to you. I cared so much about you but…it's always-"

"You don't have to explain anything to me Robert." Jade whispered.

"If I don't explain it to you, I won't be able to marry you and have the same happy life Peter and Annabelle will have. Being away from you hasn't made my life easier, but only made me realize how wrong I am and how much I really do love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you." he said.

Jade froze, staring at him in astonishment. She heard gasps nearby and saw Helena, Annabelle and Peter standing a few feet away, no doubt eavesdropping on Jade and Robert's conversation.

"He's drunk." Jade explained.

"Am _not_!" Robert yelled.

"Do you see what I mean?" Jade asked Helena, Annabelle and Peter who by this time were smirking at the both of them. Robert passed out on Jade's lap and the rest of the men had to haul him to one of their houses nearby. When it was time to leave back to the castle, Jade went by to Annabelle and hugged her goodbye, exchanging a few tears as well.

"I wish you the best of luck in married life and I'll see you every single day." Jade said to Annabelle who gave Jade a tear stricken smile. "I have to go love. I'll see you tomorrow." Jade said leaving Peter's house.

"Thank you Jade." Peter said.

Jade gave him a nod and left on the wagon to ride back to the castle. Being back in the castle stirred many emotions inside of her that Jade was exhausted to feel. Every time she was here, it felt as if the universe's weight had been put on her chest. Everything about the castle had depressed her and there was no such thing as happiness here. Especially after this morning's incident, it started to make Jade feel dread to expect Draco watching her in the shadows. What was he going to do after this baby was born? What about Robert? Nothing made much sense after Robert's drunken profession today. What was he going to do or say to her while sober? Jade rested herself on the dirty mat of straw that she would have to change first thing tomorrow morning. For now, she closed her eyes and fell into a sleep for the end of the day to come to a close.


	43. Puppet Master

Merthin startled awake at the door of his lair open with a loud slam. He looked up from his cot to see Draco Malfoy, the King of Castile closing the door behind him.

"Has there been any news of the Portkey?" Draco asked Merthin who shook his head and sat up.

"No my King. The Portkey is nowhere to be found and the Queen hasn't disclosed its location to me." Merthin said. Draco clasped his hands together to his mouth and paced back and forth.

"I need the Portkey Merthin. I can't have my child here in this forsaken dimension." Draco said. Merthin nodded.

"Yes I understand my King but the only person in the world that knows where the Portkey is, is the Queen herself. She hasn't entrusted anyone else to know where else it is." He said, seeing Draco start to get agitated.

"But the King needs to know that what is more important is Jade's life." Merthin said. Draco paused where he stood and slowly turned to meet Merthin's eyes.

"What about Jade's life?" Draco asked.

"The Queen is waiting for your child to be born and after that she will not have anything to do with Jade. She will condemn her immediately after the child's birth." Merthin said.

"Then why the _fuck_ haven't I got the Portkey yet damn it?!" Draco roared. He grabbed Merthin's shoulders and shook him violently. "I _need_ to get out of here with her. Castile is driving me insane and I can't deal with Jade falling in love with some other man and distancing herself from me." Draco said.

"How does the King know about Jade?" Merthin asked.

"Does it matter Merthin? The fact of the matter is that she's in love and she doesn't want to leave here. She knows more than anyone else that the Queen hates her but she still wants to be here. Who is he anyways? I want to know who he is." Draco said. Merthin slowly got up, seeing Draco look tense. There was a small prominent vein on his temple, indicating his anger. It was surely something that Castile wanted.

"My King, Castile is playing you as a puppet-"

"I don't give a dragon's shit about Castile. All I want to know is, who is the man that Jade is in love with." Draco said.

* * *

Jade hung up bed sheets on a clothesline. The weather was cold yet beautiful and Jade enjoyed listening to the flow of the river and the occasional workings of the builders at the far end of the castle. After finishing hanging the sheets up, she picked up her basket and walked back to the castle.

"It's nice to see you since yesterday." Oscar said appearing by Jade's side.

"You too. I'm surprised you're up this early." Jade said seeing Oscar give her a questioned look.

"And why on earth are you surprised my dear?" Oscar asked.

"From all the heavy drinking. I thought your kidneys were going to stop." Jade said. Oscar chuckled and shrugged.

"I'm just having a good time before I leave this world. Annabelle's wedding was a good enough excuse to drink like a horse, don't yeh think?" Oscar asked knocking Jade's arm. "But you were using Annabelle's wedding as an excuse to be with Robert again didn't you? You sweet little couple. I can still see the love in his eyes for you." Oscar sighed.

"Oscar please." Jade said, trying to avoid the Robert territory.

"And speaking of the devil, look who's coming our way. God bless his soul. Robert over here! Jade's been looking for yeh all morning!" Oscar said waving to Robert who held up a hand. Jade paled and looked at Oscar in disbelief.

"Oscar!" Jade hissed.

"Hello." Robert said pleasantly. Oscar clapped Robert's shoulder.

"I'll leave yeh two alone." Oscar said. He kissed Jade's forehead and left, reminding Jade to send Tallis after him. Robert made a noise in his throat, catching Jade's attention.

"How are you?" Robert asked seeing Jade nod.

"I've never been better." Jade said. Robert nodded as well, smiling nervously at Jade.

"Um…it's a good thing I ran into you. I've also been looking for you all morning." He said.

"Oh…why is that?" Jade asked.

"I needed to…show you something." Robert said, scratching his head.

Jade followed Robert to the Oratory and wondered why he led her there. He wasn't assigned to build there. Jade looked around, seeing most of her tapestries complete and hanging on the walls. There were more that needed to be finished but as of now, she needed to see what Robert wanted to show her. Robert picked up a slate and showed it to Jade who almost did a double take at what she saw. A carving of her, her face detailed to the way that she had always seen it, working on a tapestry. This was what Robert saw when he watched her work on the tapestries. She looked so serene and calm, and her entire focus was projected on to the tapestries.

"Do you like it?" Robert asked.

"Robert this is beautiful." Jade whispered. Robert set the slate down and touched Jade's face, feeling her place a hand on his cheek. They instantly fell into each other, hugging each other tightly and releasing the emotions that they had reserved in each other like a dam.

"Come back to me. Come back to me Jade." Robert whispered, hearing Jade sob into his chest. "I'm so sorry. I left you alone and gave up on you. I'm _not_ making the same mistake again. Do you hear me? I'm never going to let you go." Robert said holding her face up to him. Jade nodded trying to smile and cry at the same time.

"I love you." Jade told him. Robert felt his knees go weak listening to her tell him that she loved him. He wanted his knees to go weak every day he listened to her tell him that she loved him.

"Marry me?" he asked. She stilled in his arms, looking at him blankly. What was going through her mind? Peter told him last night about Robert's ramblings and Robert knew that it was time to come clean and tell Jade what he wanted with her for the rest of his life.

"Yes. Yes. Yes." Jade said.

Draco was dragged away by Merthin. He couldn't deal it by seeing Jade and his child being taken away by some other man. He felt betrayed and helpless again; two emotions that made Draco feel inferior to the world and he didn't like it one bit. He felt violent against Robert and would do anything to take him out of the way. Robert was the main reason why Jade wasn't looking for the Portkey and decided to live here permanently. She had no right to decide that for his child as well.

"I'm going to kill that man. Jade won't marry him, not over my dead body." Draco said.

"My King you have to understand, that is what the Queen wants-"

"Fuck you Merthin. I'm not losing Jade to a builder. She's mine and so is my child that she's carrying." Draco said, yanking his arm from Merthin and walking away. Merthin watched Draco disappear into the shadows of the castle, feeling the hope of all come to dust. Castile's play was settling to where she wanted them to be. She was finally turning Jade and Draco completely against each other and destroying of what was left of their chances of survival in this horrible place.


	44. The Pot

**Hey guys, sorry about the wait (even though I think one or two people are reading the story) but I'm going to update as promised! The semester's opened up for me again so you all know what that means...no new stories for a while, just updates on Portkey. But I have good news! While on my winter break, I started writing a new story. I barely started (only 50 pages but so much more to go) and it's going to be VERY fun...::hint:: is anyone a fan of Dexter, the Showtime series?? If you know what I'm talking about, it's exactly what you think it is but our ever changing Jade is going to be a serial killer this time! But that's all I have to say on that story. I was having a lot of fun writing it but I had to put it on pause because I'm tackling school down FULL THROTTLE! Hopefully I'll start writing again in May, when the semester ends =X. If anyone has questions **

**or comments, my PM box is open for you! Let me know what you think! Let me shut up and give you the rest of the story! Enjoy! **

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Robert and Jade told everyone about the news and no one could have been happier. Helena and Oscar broke into a dance, throwing fistfuls of rice in the air like little children and running outside to spread the news.

"Looks like they're getting drunk again." Jade said seeing Helena fish out a flask from her apron. Oscar took one out too and the two toasted each other, drinking to the occasion.

"They're always looking for an excuse to get drunk. Come." Robert said taking Jade's hand.

"Where are we going?" Jade asked as they walked away from the commotion outside. Robert only smiled at her and lead her towards the river.

"Do you know where Annabelle and Peter run off to?" he asked, still walking alongside the river. They approached a small waterfall that led to a small pond.

"Those sneaky little buggers!" Jade said hearing Robert chuckle. He sat down and took off his leather boots and took off his tunic. His skin was tanned under the tunic from days under the sun and complimented the reddish brown hair on his head.

"Isn't it too cold to be doing this?" Jade asked seeing him grin.

"The water isn't all that bad." He said slowly wading into the water. He kept walking until the water was up to his neck. "It's soothing." He said.

Jade watched him swim around, getting his hair wet. Her feet played with the water and she found a slate where she could sit and watch Robert swim. The back of her head prickled and she turned around to see what was behind her. It was one of those feelings where she thought someone was watching.

"You aren't coming in?" Robert asked, starting to walk up the shore. Jade turned around to see him standing in front of her, the beads of water on his face and his hair slicked back. There was something so charming and beautiful about him but Jade didn't know what it was. She reached out and touched his cheek.

"I think you're beautiful." Jade whispered. Robert leaned in close to her face, brushing his lips lightly against hers.

"I'm the one who is supposed to tell you that." He said. Jade wrapped her arms around his neck and he carried her into the water. Jade felt the cool water touch her feet and slowly envelope her entire body. Robert slowly let Jade on her feet, feeling her wrap herself around him. He kissed her softly, feeling her kiss back urgently. He slid his hands under her dress and worked up, his eyes locked with hers. Jade raised her arms and Robert pulled her dress off and let it float nearby. Jade felt goosebumps all throughout her body and she shivered from the cold. Robert wrapped his arms around her body, letting her to feel secure and warm with him. He bent his head and kissed her feverishly, feeling her respond by tightening her arms around his neck and circling her legs around his waist.

Jade opened her eyes for a second and saw Draco standing near a tree, watching them like a hawk. She suddenly let go of Robert and felt paralyzed by the fear and invasion of privacy by Draco.

"What's wrong Jade?" Robert asked. Jade looked at Robert and turned him around to point towards Draco. "There's nothing there Jade. What did you see?" Robert asked, starting to get out of the water.

"I saw him…I saw…a man." Jade said, unable to tell Robert about Draco again. She looked around, knowing that Draco was nearby, still watching them from somewhere. Robert disappeared and Jade quickly got dressed walked out of the pond.

"I couldn't find anyone. Are you sure you saw someone?" Robert asked. Jade wrapped her arms around herself to keep herself from shivering.

"Let's get you into the castle." He said, wrapping his cloak around her. They returned back to the castle and Robert kissed her goodbye. Jade sat in her room, still thinking about Draco. She was sure that she didn't conjure him up from her imagination; she really did see him, but why was he doing this to her?

"Jade."

Jade looked up to see Merthin standing in front of her, closing the door behind him.

"There are a couple of things that need to be addressed." Merthin told her.

"Merthin do you know anything about Draco and why he can't leave me be?" Jade asked seeing him nod.

"The King knows that you will be getting married to the builder. I've tried to explain to His Majesty that this is Queen Castile's planning. She wants the King himself to hurt you." Merthin said.

"I don't know what to do Merthin. I don't know how else to explain to Draco about this." Jade said.

"If you do not let His Majesty see reason, he will _kill_ Robert. He has gotten the Queen to agree to have a jousting competition. Lords and Dukes will be arriving tomorrow to take part in this tournament but I have a feeling that this will involve Robert in the most unpleasant way imaginable." Merthin said. With that, he disappeared from the room, leaving Jade to worry for Robert's life.

* * *

Jade woke up early the next morning to hear the chattering of crowds outside of the castle of Castile. She slowly sat up from the bed of straw and got to her feet, dusting the dirt off of her enlarged belly. She looked out of the small opening and sure enough saw people moving in with caravans, horses and tents towards the grounds. She squinted as she watched men smoothing out a small section of sand, erecting poles that had small yellow and red flags.

"Jade! Come quick!" Helena said appearing in the room. Jade turned around to see Helena leaving quickly and she followed behind.

"Helena what's going on? Why are there so many people outside?" she asked as they walked down the stairs.

"Dear, there is so much to be explained but even more to do! Please fill these buckets with water!" Helena said, handing Jade two pails.

Jade nodded and Helena quickly walked off for the rest of the chores. Jade walked out of the castle, still looking at the people who paid no attention to her. Instead they were busy setting things up and most importantly, other royal families rode in on carriages, being welcomed by others and entering the castle. Jade walked away from the busy site and walked towards the building site where Robert had been explaining something to a man that was unfamiliar to her. She had caught Robert's eye whose features lightened when he saw her. The unfamiliar man turned around and looked at Jade as Robert introduced her.

"My lady." Robert said. Jade gave a small smile and nodded at the man who smiled back at her.

"Bless you both. Thank you Robert, I shall pass the details to my men." The man said.

"Thank you." Robert said. The man walked away, giving Jade one last nod and Jade turned around to see Robert taking the buckets from her.

"What's going on today?" Jade asked as Robert kissed her.

"The King and Queen are hosting an event. Word has it that the King will be jousting." Robert said slowly. He saw her look away quickly, flinching. He felt himself go uncomfortable and didn't know what to say to her. Ever since their reconciliation, Robert never brought up the subject of the King. Jade cleared her throat after pulling herself together and looked up to Robert.

"Are you busy right now?" she asked seeing him shake his head. "Then would you accompany your wife to the river?" she asked.

Robert smiled, thanking that she didn't let the King come between them. Robert wrapped an arm around her shoulder and she wrapped an arm around his waist, walking towards the river. They spoke for a bit and Jade even got to wash her face and rinse to freshen up for her day. Robert escorted Jade back to the castle where Helena was frantically searching for her.

"We must serve lunch to the royal guests and the King and Queen! Take these platters with Jody to serve in the Great Hall." Helena said.

Jade nodded, feeling dreadful about having to see Draco again. Even though her heart jumped at the thought of seeing him again, it was the image of him and Castile that she had to serve together. Jade walked out, following Jody with two large plates of fish. Jody had been carrying a steaming pot of broth towards the table. Jade walked around the table and set her plate of fish down, trying to avoid eye contact with Draco. An elegant woman with dull Irish red hair looked up at Jade with her pale blue eyes.

"Are you with child dear?" she asked kindly. Jade looked at her and nodded, her hand automatically smoothing out her round belly. The woman smiled and Jade looked around nervously to see that everyone including Castile had been watching her. "When are you due?" she asked.

"In two months or so." Jade answered.

"These maids and their pregnancies. I'm sure that's a bastard she's carrying…is it not?" a pink round faced man asked, his stomach pouring over his pants. Jade bit her tongue, demanding herself not to speak back but she shifted her focus on the pot of broth that Jody was holding as she served everyone.

"Bastards and their whore of a mother-" the pot trembled and in a split second, it flipped over, pouring it's scalding hot contents over the man. He shrieked and Jade stared in horror, covering her mouth as he fell to the floor, his skin peeling rapidly. Everyone around the table let out a horrified yell and stood up to see him rolling around the floor.

"I'm so sorry! Forgive me! The pot slipped from my-"

"_Leave_." Castile interrupted.

Everyone turned towards the old and pale woman whose eyes pierced with anger and calamity. Without a sound, Jody stepped away as the other servants attended to the man on the floor. Jade felt horrible. This was _her_ fault and she definitely didn't mean to hurt him even though he had deserved it. Now everyone thought it was Jody's fault. From this, Jade realized that she needed to allocate her power by controlling it carefully, which would be a difficult task. Still in shock by the episode, Jade whipped out a rag from her apron and walked over, cleaning up the mess on the floor as the man was taken away to get bandaged.

Jade quickly left the Great Hall after cleaning the floors, table and chair. From the corner of her eye, Jade saw Draco and Castile rise from their seats in a matching grey outfit. As Jade left, Silvia and Helena rushed past her, obviously going to aid the man who had spoke rudely to Jade but Jody was nowhere to be found. Jade walked outside and met with Oscar.

"How are those stuck up royalties?" Oscar asked with a grin. Jade quickly raised her eyebrows and scratched her head.

"One of the King and Queen's guests have been scalded…Jody's to blame for it." Jade said.

Oscar's jaw dropped and Jade nodded. She explained what happened in the Great Hall a few moments ago. Oscar left and Jade stood outside, looking for Robert.


	45. Jousting Hearts

"That's terrible Robert…why are you laughing?" Jade asked, watching Robert laugh and wipe the tears from his eyes. They were sitting near their pond, hearing the soothing waterfall a few meters away. Jade had a basket of food and weak beer that she was ready to eat with Robert for lunch. On their way to the pond, Jade told him about what happened in the Great Hall and she saw him fall into laughter.

"Robert!" Jade said, pushing him. He looked at Jade, still laughing and put a hand up, steadying himself.

"I thought you…didn't like Jody." He said, still laughing in between. Jade took out meat pies and porridge to place on the blanket that they were sitting on.

"It's not that…it just…felt horrible to watch." Jade said. She felt uncomfortable about breaking the news to Robert about her being a witch. Her being pregnant by Draco Malfoy was enough shock for Robert to bear. He touched her face softly, seeing her look up. He went to say something but they heard two people approaching. Robert and Jade saw Annabelle and Peter walking towards them, their faces bright from the joy of being newlyweds.

"Ah, I see the new husband and wife have come to join us?" Robert said getting up. He clapped his hand with Peter and Jade greeted Annabelle with a long hug.

"Actually we came for the jousting competition! The royalties of the country are competing and the King himself." Peter said excitedly.

"Jade's just told me the Earl of Grenfelt had an entire pot of broth poured over him." Robert said.

Jade looked at Annabelle who was mildly curious. Jade explained the entire episode to Annabelle as they all sat down to eat. As soon as they were done, Annabelle and Jade cleaned up and the four of them got up and started out towards the jousting area where the crowd was starting to be seating. There were stands along with a booth for Draco and Castile to sit with their honored guests that had overlooked the arena. Horses were draped over with expensive cloaks with openings for their eyes. Jade held on to Robert's hand as they watched a few men in armors getting ready to saddle themselves on their horses and battle. Jade felt nauseous at the thought of a man jabbing another man with a wooden pole on a charging horse. She looked up at the booth to see that Castile was sitting there with her guests but no Draco. She looked around, trying to find Draco but she couldn't see him anywhere.

"What's wrong?" Robert asked from her side. Jade looked at him and shook her head.

"I don't want to see this." She said.

The two men charged at each other. The man on a young black horse crashed the pole that he had been holding into another man's chest, making him fall off of his horse. Jade winced, seeing the poor man on the ground, rolling around and clutching his chest where his armor broke off.

"One for the King!" a man announced.

Everyone cheered but Jade's eyes snapped up to the man on the black horse who opened the hinge of his mask. Her stomach knotted wildly as she saw Draco looking at the man on the floor and look up to meet her eyes for a fraction of a second. Was he out of his bloody mind? No one in their world and generation jousted so how could he? She watched another man mount on another horse and both Draco and him started getting ready to run into each other. A man with a bright yellow flag waved it wildly around, signaling both Draco and his opponent to kick their horses for a wild run. Jade watched in horror, not being able to breathe. Draco rammed the pole into his opponent's shoulder and everyone else cheered as he received a score of 2 to nothing. One by one, his opponents were defeated immaculately and soon there were chunks and splinters of wooden pieces on the floor.

"This is ridiculous; I'm not staying here for another second." Jade said going to leave. Robert touched her arm, leaving her to turn around.

"Where are you going to go?" Robert asked as the announcer stepped out to speak to anyone who would challenge the King.

Draco took off his helmet and stared in Jade and Robert's way. He saw Annabelle standing next to her husband, looking thicker. He saw one of the men he had told his plans to approach Robert who was kissing Jade. It nearly sent him on a bloody rage but he calmed himself down, waiting patiently.

"If there is _anyone _who wishes to challenge the King of Castile, step forward!" the man asked, holding his flag.

Draco watched one of his men shove Robert none too gently towards the arena. Robert stumbled forward and before he had the chance to say anything to the man who pushed him, the people on the stands cheered.

"Robert Builder has challenged the King!" someone yelled.

Jade stared in horror for a few seconds and looked at Draco who started smirking. She immediately grabbed Robert's arm and started to pull him away.

"He hasn't challenged _anyone_! Come back Robert." Jade said forcefully. She heard Draco laughing and turned around to see him toss his helmet back and forth in his hands.

"Does the Mrs. often wear the pants in your household, builder?" Draco asked, looking amused. Jade narrowed her eyes as she looked at him.

"You should know Malfoy."

There were a few hisses and gasps as people stood up from her speaking so harshly to Draco.

"How dare you speak to the King you insolent-" Silvia said but had been cut off by Oscar who pulled her away.

"Jade do not speak to him that way." Robert said.

"Robert you don't know him. Please just walk away from this and-"

"I will not wait forever on peasants." Draco said.

Jade felt infuriated. She looked at Draco, hoping that a meteor would come flying out of the sky and crash into him, sending him to hell. Robert broke off from Jade and kissed her forehead.

"I will be fine." He said softly. He looked up at Oscar and pushed Jade gently towards him. "Oscar please take her away." Robert said.

Jade started to panic. This was what Merthin meant by Draco getting Robert involved in something where his life was in jeopardy. Oscar held Jade back as Robert walked away from her, entering the arena.

"This isn't going to end well. I don't want him in there. Why won't he listen to me and leave?" Jade asked as Robert put on an armor.

"It's a sign of disrespect to the King." Oscar tried to explain to Jade who snarled.

"Fuck the King-"

"Ssh! Jade ye'll get yerself killed!" Oscar said.

Jade gave him a dark look and turned to see Robert mounting on the horse. Her insides jumped and she felt everything else in her body start to fall apart. Robert's horse moved back and forth as he reigned it in, trying to steady himself. Draco put his helmet on and pulled himself on his horse. When both men had their horses at a stance, the man with the yellow flag swerved the flag around to signal the men to charge. Jade watched in horror as Robert and Draco kicked off, holding the poles out to strike each other.

The wooden pole that Robert had been holding crashed into Draco's shoulder and the pole that Draco was holding, swiped Robert off of his horse. Everyone gasped and stood silent to witness that the King had been struck for the very first time since the tournament had started. Draco, in his armor clutched onto his left shoulder, leaning on top of his horse. It was just as equally painful to watch if it were Robert that had gotten struck to Jade. She didn't want to see Draco in pain, no matter what they had gone through. A few people rushed over to help Draco but he growled at them and swiped around his good arm to leave him alone. They stepped back and Draco took a moment to get himself together again.

Robert scrambled up and ran over towards Draco, obviously apologizing. Draco grabbed Robert by the collar and hissed something horrible at him. His entire face was red and Jade could see from yards away that the veins in his head was bulging from rage and pain. Draco let Robert go and Robert stumbled back, staring with a mixture of anger and shock. Jade wanted to go up there and take him away to prevent further damage but it was too late. Robert strapped himself on his horse and the two men went back to their positions. The man with the flag ran into the arena, waved the flag wildly and the two men kicked their horses in the belly to charge towards each other.

In two seconds flat, Jade witnessed and experienced an agonizing image of Draco striking Robert in the chest.

The wooden beam that Draco had been holding with his good arm hit Robert's chest so hard, it burst into pieces. Splinters flew everywhere but Robert took it the worst. He fell on the ground as his horse galloped away and he was motionless.

"_ROBERT_!" Jade screeched.

She tore away from Oscar and ran as fast as she could towards him. Draco watched her run towards Robert and drop to her knees. She tore the damaged armor off of his chest and took his helmet off to see his wide eyes gaping at her. It was a grisly sight as blood was pouring from his head and mouth. She started sobbing as she cradled his head on to her lap and felt around his chest for any broken ribs. She could hardly keep herself sane and it stunned Draco.

He didn't think she was so strongly attached to him. Draco wanted him dead to keep Jade around himself but all that had changed. She was in love with someone else. Out of rage and anger, he wanted to kill Robert for taking Jade away from him but right now he was re-evaluating everything. Jade was finally happy with someone and Draco was taking that away from her.

"I love you Robert. Please look at me. Stay with me love, don't go anywhere. I'm here…everything's going to be all right." Jade choked out. Helena, Oscar, Peter, Tallis and Annabelle quickly made their way and picked Robert up.

"Be careful, he m-might have punctured his lungs." Jade sobbed.

"It's all right dear. Don't worry. Come with me, he'll be fine." Helena said, wrapping her arms around Jade. Draco watched as they all left. Robert's injuries were supposed to make him feel better but ended up leaving a gaping hole in his chest and filling it with undiluted regret and guilt.

* * *

Oscar, Tallis and Peter set Robert down on the cold stone ground in the castle. Jade watched and sobbed in Helena's arms as Oscar tore through Robert's shirt and probed along his ribs with his hands and fingers. Robert groaned in pain a couple of times, especially when Oscar poked the affected parts of his chest.

"Robert, can you breathe?" Peter asked. Robert tried to speak but only gurgled, having trouble.

"His lungs…oh my god his lungs. They're filling up with his blood." Jade squeaked.

Thousands of things were running through her mind but she didn't know how or what to save Robert with. She couldn't make a potion to mend his bones or even heal his lungs.

_'Merthin.'_ Jade thought.

She instantly tapped her wrists three times and ran out of the room to find Merthin. She ran around the castle and quietly ran down the dungeons. She looked around in every room and even in his lair but couldn't find him anywhere. Feeling her throat start to raw from panic, Jade ran back into the room where Robert was, trying to fight for his life. Oscar, Tallis, Peter, Annabelle and Helena stood there, unsure of what to do.

"Are you sure we shouldn't perform bloodletting? His lungs are starting to fill with blood and-"

"_No_! We are _not_ making him bleed. Get out! Get out!" Jade nearly shrieked. Oscar went over to calm Jade down but she wasn't going to take any of it. Everyone left and Jade knelt down to Robert who was lying on his back, gurgling and having a hard time to breathe. Tears slipped from the corner of his eyes as he started to shake violently.

"Move aside!" Jade looked up to see Merthin kneeling down next to her with a few bottles of potions in his arms. Jade made room for Merthin and watched him silently as he quickly turned Robert to one side. Merthin took out a thin long rod and glared at the end of the thin rod. It started to glow, bright orange.

"What are you going to do with that?" Jade asked, sitting straight and alert.

"I need to drain his lungs. Hold him down and please…do not worry." He said. Jade nodded unconfidently and crawled over to Robert to hold his arms down. "This is going to hurt. Tell him he shouldn't worry or panic…or else something will go wrong." Merthin said.

Jade looked down at Robert, feeling herself being reduced to tears and pain. Merthin was going to use the hot rod on Robert on Merlin knows where. She had a better idea onto where to stick the metal rod in and it was definitely going to be Draco. Merthin stabbed the rod on the side of Robert's pale chest. Robert jerked but Jade took a good hold of him, trying to placate him from the pain that was searing into the side of his chest. Robert groaned, a thin film of sweat developing on his face.

"Hold him well Jade." Merthin commanded, tossing the rod aside. There was an dark red open sore where Merthin poked the rod. The area where the ghastly sore sat slowly started turning red. Jade looked down at Robert, where his face was twisted in pain, his eyes wide. She slowly laid down next to him and wrapped an arm around him. She stroked his hair, looking at his face. Robert trembled in her arms and slowly looked up to meet her eyes. Jade couldn't imagine of a happier time when she looked into the eyes of a man she loved as much as she loved Robert. She read into his soul and felt the pain and love he was experiencing at the moment. Jade softly kissed his lips and touched his forehead with hers.

"I'm here with you. I know you can go through this. It might hurt a little love, but you'll be all right." She said. She pulled back and nodded at Robert. He was terrified but nodded all the same to let her know that he trusted her. Jade saw Merthin insert a small tube into the hole that he had made. Dark blood immediately shot out of the tube into the ground and Robert started gasping for air as if he had just reached the surface after an agonizing length submerged in water. Seeing him gulping for air and slowly relapse into his normal breathing pattern, Jade was left speechless.

"Merthin you're a genius!" Jade said seeing Merthin give her a grave look.

"My child, I would rather you comment on my brilliancy for bringing you the Portkey, not trying to save your fiancé's life." Merthin said. Jade quieted down as Merthin turned around and took out a dark and heavy glass bottle filled with potion. He removed the cork and turned Robert on his back.

"Please lift his head so he can drink the potion." Merthin told Jade. Jade cradled Robert's head on her lap and lifted it slightly as Merthin touched the bottle to Robert's lips.

"You need to drink it Robert. They will heal your ribs." Jade said. Robert eyeballed Jade who had a better hold of his head. Robert parted his lips and drank as Merthin tilted the bottle. He nearly spit the potion out but Jade force fed him until the dosage was given to him. Merthin corked the bottle again and Robert started to lull his head as his eyes became droopy.

"He must sleep for the potion to fully heal and restore his lungs and ribs. Allow him to sleep and when he wakes in the morning, replenish him with a large breakfast." Merthin said. Jade nodded, seeing him prepare to leave, avoiding to look at her.

"Thank you Merthin…I owe you for saving his life." Jade said softly.

She couldn't see Merthin tearing up since his back was facing her. He was caught in the middle of a nasty battle with a gruesome outcome. He couldn't save Robert like this forever and when the day would come, where Robert was never to be saved, Jade was going to fall apart. The dreams, the love, the hope and future she had invested in a good man like him was going to shatter into shards.

When Merthin left, Jade cleaned up the spilt blood on the floor. She lied down next to Robert and watched him sleep. His face was relaxed and free from the pain that she saw him go through earlier or whenever Tallis was nearby attempting to help. Jade smoothed out his hair and held him close to her, knowing that she could be doing this for years.

There was a small shuffle from the corner of the room and Jade looked up, unable to see through the dark.

"Jade." She heard Draco say.


	46. To The Gallows

Her throat dried out and she stared at the darkness. She heard Draco walk towards her, into the moonlight that softly beamed through the window on the wall. From under the moonlight, Jade could swear that she was seeing another person. His hair was longer, he hadn't shaved and looked tired and beaten. If they were under normal circumstances, she'd feel sorry for him but she couldn't feel it. He was nowhere near forgiveness from her, not after what he did to Robert.

"What is it that you want from him Malfoy? You want to rip his heart out so you can be assured that he's truly dead?" Jade asked, her voice quavering. Draco frowned sadly and shook his head.

"Jade no-"

"Then what do you want from us? Why are you here? You proved that you're better at jousting by nearly killing him! Why won't you leave us _alone_?" Jade asked. Draco looked like he was going to argue with her about why I challenged Robert at the jousting competition but kept his mouth shut.

"That's not what I was here for." Draco said softly. Jade held her stance, ready to protect Robert if she had to.

"Then why pray tell, are you here?" Jade asked.

"I came here to apologize for the grief I've caused you…and to say goodbye." He said. He could see her flinch, not quite understanding what he was saying. He smiled and placed a hand over his face, shaking his head. "We both have changed Jade…coming to Castile changed us both. It's my fault that we're here in danger…but Jade…honestly, I wouldn't realize who I am now if I hadn't transported us with that Portkey." He said. He scoffed, looking away as he fought to keep himself together in front of her.

"I wouldn't realize that I'm not _this_ cruel and I wouldn't realize that I'm not a coward. I wouldn't have even realized that I love you…and loved you enough to let you live in peace." He said.

He looked up to meet her eyes, feeling the ground under his feet start to slowly take him in.

"It's hard for any man in my place to let you go…but I have to Jade. I have to for you. It took me a while to get it through my thick head that you've moved on to someone else that treated you the way you deserve to be treated." He said. "It's true I arranged the jousting tournament to get rid of…him but only because I thought I was going to get you back…boy I was wrong." Draco said.

Jade stood quiet, listening to him, not sure of what to feel anymore.

"I didn't realize how much you really cared about him until after I saw you crying over him. I swear to you Jade I wouldn't ever hurt you intentionally. That night when I said those horrible things to you…when I used that horrid memory against you, I was only trying to create a distance between us so it could protect you from the Queen. Now, I'm here to say goodbye properly and on good terms. I love you but I can't have you. I want to raise our child with you…but I'm married to that wretched Squib. I want you to be happy Jade…even if it means to make a life with another man…at least I'll see you smiling every day to someone who would do that for you." he said.

Draco softly touched her cheek with the back of his hand, seeing her cry.

"I hope you can forgive me one day." He whispered. He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead. Jade closed her eyes, crying silently as she felt Draco linger. He didn't want to leave but it felt like the entire world was pulling him back. Draco let her go and stepped back, away from her. Looking her over once more, Draco turned around and disappeared.

* * *

Robert woke up next afternoon with Jade and Annabelle sitting next to him. They turned around to see him blinking, looking around and trying to piece everything together.

"Where am I?" Robert asked his voice dry. Jade sat down next to Robert as Annabelle pushed his head up gently.

"In the castle. We took you in here after the tournament." Jade told him. She placed the metal bowl of wine to his lips and he drank from it, finding himself to be incredibly thirsty.

"How are you feeling?" Jade asked, when he finished. Annabelle placed him back down to lie on the ground and he took a deep breath, looking at Jade.

"I shouldn't be alive." He said. Jade frowned, staring at him as he touched his healed ribs. "I wasn't going to make it-"

"Stop saying that Robert. You're fine." Jade said impatiently. Robert pulled himself up to argue with her but Annabelle held out her hands and stood up. She walked over to Jade and motioned her to tell her that she was leaving. Annabelle left and Jade was left with Robert who was adamant to know how he recovered so quickly. She looked at him, expecting her to explain.

"What?" she asked. Robert leaned his head towards her, nodding for her to go on.

"What do you want me to tell you? Merthin's a wizard and he gave you a potion to get better, is that what you wanted?" Jade asked.

"Tell me the _truth_." Robert pleaded. Jade held on to his shoulder and shook him lightly.

"Robert…whatever the truth is, I can't be any happier to have you back. I nearly lost you yesterday and I'm going to make sure this doesn't happen again. Why can't you be happy and leave it at that?" Jade asked. She looked into his sharp green eyes, hoping that she was getting through to him. "Do you trust me?" she asked softly. Robert slowly softened at her question and gave her a small nod.

"More than I would myself." He said. Jade smoothed out his hair and kissed his forehead.

"Then forget about this and let's move on with a new life. Please?" she asked. Robert wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.

"I love you." he said.

* * *

For the next three months, Jade kept a low profile. She didn't want to attract any attention whether it was bad or good. Robert was on his way to a full recovery and even working on their home where Jade was supposed to shift to after marriage. Jade couldn't wait to leave the castle but the thought of leaving Merthin, Helena and Oscar behind depressed her. Her main thought went towards Draco who said his goodbyes two months ago. She knew he was genuine in his apologies and hadn't seen him since.

Jade sat on a flat stone that Robert usually sat on while sketching out his designs and explaining to the masons and carpenters about the architecture of the castle. She was heavily pregnant and tired from working the entire morning. Her feet were throbbing, her stomach was heavy and she was short out of breath. She saw Robert and Peter both mixing mortar and yelling at Tallis when he accidentally threw in things he wasn't supposed to. Jade felt a nudge and turned around to see Annabelle smiling and slowly sitting down with a bowl of freshly sliced apples and pears.

"How are you feeling?" Jade asked Annabelle who nodded, rubbing her stomach. She motioned quickly that her child was kicking inside and was most likely going to come out like Peter. Jade laughed and took an apple slice from the bowl.

"Now don't start badgering my niece or nephew just yet Annabelle…ough." Jade said, touching her stomach. Annabelle looked worried but Jade shook it off.

"I just have a stomachache that's all. It's been hurting since the morning…I knew I shouldn't have eaten those eggs." Jade said. The pain died down and Jade was able to breathe again, but felt a low and faint throb around her lower back.

"Well that's it then. I've sent off everyone to work. Ready darling?" Robert asked, patting his hands.

"Fantastic." Jade said. Robert helped her up and she brushed herself off.

"You're growing every day, yet you still manage to keep our child inside." He said, kissing the top of her head.

"Our child feels like ten Robert. I don't think I can take another day of having them with me anymore." Jade said, rubbing her back.

"I'm almost always happy that I'm a man." Peter said. He looked at Annabelle who raised her eyebrow at him and he cowered back, behind Robert who laughed and clapped his back.

"Shall we? I'm a bit hungry and not to mention tired." Jade said. Robert and Jade bid farewell to Peter and Annabelle who waved back.

"Where exactly are we going?" Jade asked as they walked away from the work site. Robert grinned, bringing her closer.

"I wanted to surprise you for our wedding but since our child is expected any day, I decided that I would show you today." He said.

"Where to?" Jade asked as he helped her on top of a horse.

"A little patience please. I'd love to let you know when you see it." He said.

Their horse trotted off and Jade kept a steady grip on the horse in case she would fall. She waited patiently as Robert guided the horse through a dirt road, into a forest. For a few minutes, Jade looked around her surroundings, seeing that they were going towards Peter and Annabelle's home. Jade saw a small house that Robert led them to. It was a small house made from fresh timber where there was a small clearing of trees and forest ground. Robert jumped off of his horse and slowly carried Jade down to her feet.

"Whose house is this?" Jade asked, walking towards it as Robert tied the horse to a handle in between two wooden posts for a horse to fit in.

"Whose home do you think this is?" Robert asked, looking at Jade. Jade raised her eyebrows at him and looked back at the house in pleasant surprise.

"Is this…your home?" Jade seeing him chuckle. He brushed her cheek with his fingers, looking deeply into her eyes.

"Our home." He said softly. Jade felt a lump form in her throat as Robert leaned in and kissed her. He pulled back and tugged her inside to show her the insides of the home. Jade walked into a familiar home of a medieval time.

"This is the entrance room and a room for everyone in general. Our kitchen is there and our bedroom is that room provided with a door and lock." He said. Jade turned around and they both glanced at each other and blushed. Jade looked away and couldn't help but smile but Robert seemed embarrassed.

"Y-You know. In case we have more children and they grow older…we need…a little privacy…" he stammered without looking at her. Jade put a hand over her mouth and giggled because of his shyness. He only grew red and she wrapped her arms around him and leaned her head against his chest.

"I agree love." She said. She still had her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat and trailed her hand down his arm. "But since we are amongst ourselves…why not take use of the advantage?" Jade asked softly. Robert met her eyes, knowing that she was serious. They never got around to doing things most couples would do near the river or somewhere secluded where they wouldn't get caught. Before Robert, Jade would have been caught thinking about Draco for the most part of the day. Now that Robert was here and Draco had broken her heart too many times, she couldn't think of anyone else but Robert. He was everything she could have asked and more.

"Now?" Robert whispered. Jade nodded and stepped back. She pulled at her thin brown dress and slowly shrugged it off, watching Robert's face. She didn't feel embarrassed, especially when her stomach was swollen beyond its limits. Robert's eyes traveled from her face down to her body, soaking up the image of her in his mind. He shuddered and moved closer to her, his nose touching hers.

"I cannot think of a time where you were more beautiful." He said gently. Jade bit her lip to stop herself from crying. Robert placed a hand on her back and another stroking her breast. He kissed her softly and guided her softly to the bed he had made for both of them. It was hard underneath her but she knew she could manage after sleeping for months on the stone cold floor of the castle.

"Are you uncomfortable?" Robert asked seeing Jade nod.

"I'm fine love." She assured him. Robert pulled off his tunic and went to untie his drawstrings of his pants but a screech along with a deafening pounding on the door was heard. Robert leapt up and looked at Jade who was equally baffled.

"Robert! Robert _please_!" someone cried from the door. Jade stepped into her dress and hurried out to see Robert opening the door to Tallis who was covered in dust from head to toe. Tears were trailing down his cheek and he wrung his hands, gasping for breath.

"What's wrong Tallis?" Robert asked, grabbing the young boy's shoulder.

"Robert you _must_ come to the castle! The walls have collapsed on our workers and Peter has been one of them!"

"What? How did this happen?" Jade asked Tallis who broke down and started crying.

"I don't know! I don't know!" he sobbed. Robert quickly slipped on his tunic and turned around to Jade.

"I need you to stay here until I come back." Robert said.

"No! I want to go and-"

"Jade you're with child. I don't want any harm to come to you and the baby. Please?" he asked gently. It clawed inside of her that she wouldn't go and help but the state that she was in, she'd slow things down. Jade nodded, unable to speak seeing that Robert looked relieved. He kissed her forehead and ran out with Tallis to take the horse back to the castle of Castile.

Robert arrived in front of the castle at full speed on his horse. The very sight of the castle he had tried to restore was breaking apart in front of him. What used to be a bright sunny and cloudless day had been left with a thick cloud of dust and debris everywhere. People moaned and screamed in pain, their faces and body covered with white dust, looking like zombies. Robert felt his emotions ball up into his throat which he had a heavy time swallowing. He ran towards the site where the pile of stones gathered and crumbled into where everyone else was frantically trying to pull off and clear to get to their loved ones at the very bottom.

"Annabelle! No! You must stay back!" Helena sobbed as she tried to hold on to her pregnant daughter. Annabelle's face was twisted with grief as she pulled and pushed to get to the dangerous pileup to get to Peter. There were no sounds coming from her but Robert didn't need to hear anything to feel what she was going through at the very moment.

"Get back!" Robert shouted, moving his arms around. "Stand back! This area is dangerous!" Robert yelled. He ran up to Annabelle and shook her shoulders until she looked up, her eyes red and swollen from crying. She went to motion to Robert about Peter but he nodded, trying to keep calm.

"I understand Annabelle but you _must_ go in and let us save him. Peter will be all right, do you understand me?" Robert asked. Annabelle looked dazed, breathing quickly.

"I promise Annabelle." Robert said. Helena took this advantage to pull Annabelle away and Robert wasted no time.

"Everyone! Listen closely!" Robert yelled. Everyone stopped and turned to Robert, their faces set with panic.

"There needs to be order established! We must form groups to clear the damage! Everyone form groups of ten and hoist the heavy pieces out of the way. I need another group to stand by to receive the people trapped underneath!" Robert said. Everyone took Robert's lead and started to listen. They divided themselves amongst each other and handed out tasks to get the job done.

Draco stood outside, his eyes fleeting back and forth to find Jade. He couldn't see a single thing in front of him. He couldn't see anyone behind the curtain of dust and debris; he could only see people running out of it. All of them were covered with dust, running back and forth with an injured mason or carpenter in their arms. He stood still but his heart was all over the place like a pin ball machine. He looked behind him to see Castile coming forward with Silvia behind her in a deep blue gown that flourished the very floor she walked on. He was a tad bit disappointed, wondering why _she_ wasn't underneath the pile of rubble.

"Fetch me the Builder." Castile said. Silvia looked horrified. Draco knew she was fighting obedience and objecting to the Queen to go into the clouds to find the Builder. Everything had gotten eerily quiet. There were sounds, yells and screams but with no resonance. A few moments later, Silvia appeared from the clouds of dust, coughing with an arm around her face with Robert the Builder next to her. Draco kept his eyes away from looking at Robert.

"Your Majesties." Robert said, bowing before Draco and Castile. Castile held out her hand, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"What have you done with my castle?" she hissed. Robert kept his head down while he answered.

"Your Majesty, there have been some miscalculations with the-"

"Who is responsible for calculations?" Castile asked immediately.

"I am, your Majesty." Robert answered. Castile looked down on him and narrowed her eyes.

"You wish to see my castle in ruins and endanger my life as well as my husband?" she asked dangerously. Robert snapped his head up to look at her, his eyes wide and alert.

"No my Queen! That's absolutely-"

"To avenge the tournament and…that wench." The Queen spat. Draco looked up for the first time and saw Robert getting up to his feet, horrified. "Do not speak, for it will condemn you further to death." She said, pointing her finger at Robert.

"You're going to condemn him to _death_?" Draco asked. Castile turned around, sending Draco a sharp look.

"This man is responsible for what has happened to this castle and he will be punished for it." She said. Draco looked at Robert, feeling a pang of pity for the man.

"But this was an accident." Draco said.

"So he says." The Queen countered coolly.

"Which you have the responsibility of a _Queen_ to investigate and give a proper trial." Draco nearly yelled, feeling the nerves in his neck bulge. Castile raised an eyebrow, studying Draco intently.

"_My _country…_my_ rule. Arrest this man, he shall be sent to the gallows by dawn." Castile said. Draco saw the guards approach Robert and grab him by his upper arms.

"No, _NO_! You cannot do this to me!" Robert spat. "I have a wife and child!" he yelled, trying to twist and fight the guards who held him securely.

Castile turned around to where Draco could see the glint of happiness in her eyes.

"And they too shall see your punishment." She said.

With that, she left and Draco watched Robert being dragged down to the dungeons still screaming.


	47. Generous King

Jade was lying down on Robert's bed, thinking. There wasn't much to do around the 1300's, especially if you were under the reign of a vicious Queen who wouldn't give you the Portkey to go back to the era you belonged. She got up from her bed and looked around the house. It was a very simple house made of stone and wood. There was one bedroom with a bed that Robert made himself, a fireplace in the living room and a stone stove for the kitchen. Pots and cooking spoons were dangled from the hooks on the walls and plates and utensils were stacked in a wooden cupboard against the wall. She saw a furnished rug on the floor that looked expensive and imported probably from France where Robert spent most of his apprenticeship to be a Master Builder.

Jade slowly sat down on a wooden chair and sighed, looking around her new home. She was going to make a home with a man she loved, even if it meant that she had to travel a few hundred years back to find him. Even if she missed where she came from, she knew that this was where she wanted to be, only because of Robert, Annabelle and the other people she connected with in Castile. There was a heavy knock on the door that startled her from her place. Jade got up, unsure of to answer the door. There wasn't a lot to trust about this place.

"Jade!" Merthin was heard from the other side of the door. Jade immediately ran over and opened the door to Merthin who grabbed her shoulders.

"You _must_ head back to the castle! Robert has been imprisoned!" Merthin said. Jade gaped at him and before she could ask why, Merthin pulled her out of the house. In an instant, they apparated from Robert's house into Merthin's lair.

"How was he imprisoned?" Jade asked. Merthin shook his head, indicating that he wasn't going to tell her anything else. He released her into the hallway and sent her off to find out for herself. He closed the door behind him and Jade ran out of the dungeons and upstairs to the towers of her room. She saw Helena sitting in the corner with Annabelle's head buried in her lap, shaking in her sobs. Helena looked up to see Jade standing at the doorway and her face deepened with morose.

"Oh Jade…I-"

"What happened to the castle? What happened to everyone?" Jade managed to squeak out, even though she knew that Robert was somewhere in the castle, locked up. Helena clamped her mouth closed and her face grew red from the tears that started to glitter in her eyes.

"We've lost everything Jade. Everything." Helena sobbed. Helena dug her face into Annabelle's hair and muffled her cries. Jade slowly made her way towards Helena and Annabelle. She slid down next to them and cried with Helena and Annabelle as they wrapped their arms around her. The three women huddled together in the corner of their room and cried until it was dawn.

Jade woke up in the morning while it was still dark. She lifted her head off of Helena, feeling her baby kick. She rested her back against the cold stone wall and closed her eyes, feeling her baby slowly calm. Jade knew she was due any moment and hoped that this wasn't going to be the time. She needed to see Robert. Jade got up, away from Helena and Annabelle who appeared to be sleeping and walked out of the room to see Robert. She walked down the corridors and took the spiral steps up to the highest tower where she was held less than a year ago. The torches were unlit and the entire castle was dark and chilly; especially when the dawn broke, an eerie blue light cast around the insides of the castle from the wide open spaces for windows. Jade reached the prisons and looked at the guard who stood in front of Robert's cell. The guard looked up, seeing Jade and a slow and tired smile appeared on his lips.

"The pregnant wife has come to see you before your death Builder." The guard said.

Jade walked over towards Robert's cell, seeing him sitting up. When he saw Jade, he quickly stood up and walked over to the bars, holding it tightly. He hadn't slept all night, Jade could tell. He had paled and there were dark circles under his eyes. Jade silently wrapped her hands around his cold hands that were gripping the metal prison bars. They both tried to suffocate their pain and hold back the tears that cried to fall. Robert leaned his head against the bars and Jade did the same, feeling his shaky breath on her face. She closed her eyes to spend their last moments in peace but Robert chuckled. Jade opened her eyes, seeing Robert grin. She was confused, wondering what in the world he thought was so funny at this intense moment but Robert answered her question.

"Do you remember the first time we had met?" Robert asked.

Jade stared at him, unable to understand his humor. Instead Robert smiled on as if they were in one of their casual conversations.

"It was the most embarrassing moment of my life. The woman I was going to marry saw me hit by a pair of oxen into a pile of dung…yet you still agreed to marry me." Robert said, gently cradling her cheek. Jade couldn't help but smile at the memory and Robert laughed at her.

"Do you remember all those times when we had to find Annabelle and…Peter." Robert said, his face falling. All of a sudden, Jade felt herself start crying without warning. The thought of Annabelle's heartbreak over Peter killed her inside. She lost her husband and the father of her child just like Jade had lost Draco and was soon to lose Robert.

"Peter's dead." Jade broke down. She cried with her face against the bars but Robert took her face in his hands and forced her to look at him.

"I cannot stand to see you cry. Every time you do, I become a weak man." He said, losing his voice. His lower lip trembled and the wall that he had built to keep himself and Jade strong started to break. "I dreamt us living the rest of our lives in our little cottage…with our beautiful children." He said with a swallow. Tears quickly fell from his eyes but he held on to Jade strongly who without him, would have been sprawled on the floor from her broken heart.

"Look at me Jade. Look into my eyes." Robert said, shaking her face gently. Jade looked up and Robert smiled as the morning sun rose, slowly hitting the window behind him. "I dreamt of our lives Jade. I've dreamt so much but just because I will not be there, does not mean that they will never come true. They will! Smile for me Jade. I know it's a strange request but I want to take the memory of your smile to heaven." He said. Jade looked down, unable to smile. She felt Robert kiss her forehead and nuzzle his head into hers.

"I loved you the moment I saw you. No other woman has touched my heart the way you have. You are everything to me and I want you to know and feel how much I love you every day. Live your life like you were living mine. Make me happy by making yourself happy and don't you dare cry Jade. Don't remember me through pain and tears…remember me from our memories and the love we have and will always have. Is that understood?" he asked seeing Jade nod.

Before they could exchange another word, there was a sound of metal hitting against something hard. Jade and Robert turned around to see Draco standing there, tossing a heavy sword on the guard that fell unconscious. Draco took out a pair of keys from the guard's pocket and immediately went over to Robert's cell to open it.

"What are you doing?" Jade asked, seeing Draco turn the key, not meeting her eyes.

"I'm getting you both out. He doesn't deserve to be here." Draco said. He swung the cell door open and stepped back for Robert to walk out. Draco saw Jade throwing her arms around Robert and hug him desperately.

"There is no time!" Merthin said, appearing from the spiral steps.

"Merthin will take you both where Castile won't be able to reach you. Here's a pouch of money, which would feed your family well for the next two winters." Draco said, handing the pouch to Jade who gaped at him.

"The King is very generous and kind." Robert said with his emotions clogged in his voice.

"Keep Jade and the baby safe and well. That's all I ask of you Robert." Draco said seeing Robert nod. Draco dismissed them with a quick wave, leaving Robert to take a hold of Jade's arm and guide her out of the towers. Before Jade left with Merthin and Robert, she turned around, stealing a quick glance of Draco who thoughtfully watched her leave.

Merthin and Robert ran down the spiral stairs to make their escape.

"This way!" Merthin hissed, showing them towards a corridor. Before they could run in, Jade felt an unexpected pressure weighing her stomach down. She trembled and stood against the wall, feeling a wave of pain radiating throughout her lower abdomen.

"Jade? What's wrong?" Robert asked.

"The baby is coming." Merthin said, pointing to a puddle of water under Jade. Robert gaped at Jade, clearly unsure of what to do.

"We must apparate! Hold my hand!" Merthin said.

"What? Why?" Robert asked.

"Just hold it!" Merthin ordered. Jade moaned, knocking her head into Merthin's shoulder who patted her. Robert held on to Merthin's hand, wondering what this was going to do. Before Merthin could apparate, Robert heard a couple of guards at the end of the corridor, their voice carrying towards them.

Robert turned around, ripped his hand out of Merthin's hand and heard a loud _pop _behind him. Robert turned around to see that Merthin and Jade had disappeared into thin air. He searched around, trying to look for them but couldn't. There were no windows or rooms, just a dead end in a long corridor.

"You there! Prisoner! Halt!" one of the guards said, spotting Robert who turned around. There was nothing Robert could do. There was nowhere to run or hide. Robert slowly went down to his knees to welcome his imprisonment again and soon to be death.


	48. The Other Wizard

"Robert!" Jade screamed in the empty house that Robert had built for the both of them and their family. Merthin immediately made her lie down on the bed. He quickly wrapped a few sheets around the bed posts and tied them around Jade's wrists and placed the loose ends for her to hold.

"Merthin…Merthin…the pain is killing me. Merthin _please_ do something!" Jade screamed.

"Yes, yes! I have potions! Just lift your feet up and push as hard as you can." Merthin said.

Merthin knew he was lying. There were no potions to ease Jade's pain. There was no such potion to give her. He only had sleeping potions and potions to mend bones and wounds, but no pain relievers. He was also shaken from the thought of being unable to save Robert. It all had happened so fast. Draco walked into Merthin's lair early in the morning and told him that he was going to free Robert and it would be Merthin's responsibility to take both Jade and Robert away from Castile. Merthin couldn't help Robert. He took his hand away as soon as Merthin apparated. By now the guards would have captured him and sent him to the gallows to be hanged. Tears formed in Merthin's eyes as he thought about Robert's death and the young mother who was screaming in pain. He promised himself that whatever happened to his family, he wouldn't let that happen to Jade or Draco but he let them down. Robert was going to die. Jade shrieked, pushing in pain and Merthin saw the crown of a baby's head appearing.

"That's it Jade! I can see him! Push harder!" Merthin shouted.

Jade nodded, sweat lining around her face and she pushed, looking as if it were taking the life out of her. Slowly, the baby slipped out and Merthin cradled her, pulling her out of her mother. The little baby cried, her face wrinkling and Jade sat up, her hands immediately searching to hold her baby. Merthin handed Jade the baby and went to look for the afterbirth but found another shock waiting for him; another baby who was ready to be born. Merthin immediately took the baby girl from Jade and placed the little girl next to Jade.

"I need you to push again Jade!" Merthin said. It didn't take Jade long to figure out that she had another child on the way. She felt it kicking inside of her after her little girl was born. The thought of another baby filled her chest with content, but right now she was beyond exhausted and in pain to acknowledge that. With a long push, Jade felt her second baby slipping out. She watched Merthin who smiled and looked up at Jade.

"It's a boy." He said softly.

Merthin watched Jade who marveled at both of her children. He smiled every time she looked up at him and smiled whenever one of her kids cooed or cried. Ever since Merthin had found out about the Queen's betrayal, he had been worrying over how he was going to take Jade's child away from her. What was he going to say to her? That the Queen took everything away from her and treated her like scum, now she wanted her child. But Jade had twins and this concocted a plan in Merthin's head. It was probably the toughest choice Merthin had to make to date but he knew it was for the better. Merthin got up and walked over to Jade with a sleeping potion in his hand.

"You must rest Jade. Take this potion." Merthin said gently. Jade lifted her head from her newborn twins and frowned.

"But Merthin, I haven't even put them to sleep yet. They're full from feeding but they're not sleeping like they're supposed to." Jade said. She shifted from her place, feeling the raw pain of childbirth still gnawing at her. The pain wasn't as bad anymore now that she was watching her kids.

"I will put them to sleep. You must rest for now." Merthin insisted.

Jade hesitated, feeling nervous to take a potion but she was exhausted. Merthin held the potion out and Jade took it silently. Merthin gently placed her back on the bed and pulled a quilt over her. Jade lulled into a deep sleep and when Merthin was convinced that she was out cold, he places his large hands over her hand and muttered an incantation.

"Forgive me. I have no other choice but I promise I will bring your son back to you." Merthin said.

There was a yellow light from under his hands, removing the memory of giving birth to her son. When she would wake up, she would know everything she knew now except that she had given birth to twins. The light died from his hands and Merthin retracted them, staring at Jade who was fast asleep. He sighed and turned around to the newborns to see Jade's daughter sleeping and Jade's son who slowly kicked the air, looking around. Merthin tucked Jade's daughter next to Jade and picked the son up. He cradled the small infant in his arms, immediately seeing Draco looking back at him. Kissing Jade and Jade's daughter, Merthin walked away with Jade's son in his arms. He closed the door behind him, making sure that no one else were to see this house and invade it. After locking the premises with a few spells, Merthin apparated back to the castle of Castile.

* * *

Draco stood in front of the open window, staring at the gallows where Robert was hanged. He was happy he didn't see Robert's hanging. He couldn't imagine what Jade was feeling right now and hoped that she knew that he had tried his best to save Robert.

"I hope to know that you are not thinking about the Builder but of our future in this castle." Castile said from the bed. Draco's hand balled up into a fist. He never wanted to physically thrash and kill a woman in his entire life. Jade probably had gotten close but it wasn't as bad and passionate as Castile. There was a knock on the door but Draco didn't bother to turn around.

"Enter." Castile said calmly.

The door opened and Merthin walked in with a small newborn baby in his arms. Castile shot up from her bed and stared at the infant who had been sleeping.

"The girl had given birth today. She's had a son." Merthin said.

Draco whipped around and looked down at his sleeping newborn son. Just today he had seen Jade as pregnant as ever can be and right now, he was staring at his son.

"Henry III! Our son has been born." Castile said, stretching her hands out to take Draco and Jade's son. Seeing her hands going to touch his son created a horrible spitfire in his stomach. In the first time in months, Draco stalked towards Castile and abrasively took his son from Merthin's hands before Castile could hold it. He didn't care to see the look on Castile's face when he stole his son away from her. Instead he focused on the tiny pink face who had a crop of blonde hair on his head.

"Henry he is _our_ son. He will inherit the throne after us-" Castile started to say.

"Why don't _you_ take hold of the throne and live forever? Oh…wait." Draco paused. Merthin looked at Draco and looked back at the Queen who flared her nose, her eyebrow raising slowly. Before she could say anything else that could hurt the little baby or Draco, Merthin spoke up.

"My Queen…the girl…is no more." Merthin said. Draco and Castile turned around looking straight at Merthin who straightened up.

"How did you do it Merthin?" Castile asked, sneaking a look towards Draco who looked like he didn't trust Merthin's word. Merthin nodded, looking at the Queen.

"She has died from childbirth and I have burned her in the forests if you wish to see." Merthin said, waving his arm towards a wall. There was a bright picture of what seemed to be a charred body that had still been sitting in its glowing embers. Draco felt his heart drop from seeing the body that couldn't even be identified. He was hoping that Merthin was leading the Queen on but who knew anything about this forsaken place anymore? His son stirred in his sleep and cried, wrinkling his face. Draco was dumbstruck. He hadn't a clue how to manage an infant, he never even _dreamed_ about being a father when he planned to send Jade here.

"Merthin speaks the truth my Queen. The girl has died from bearing a child. Merthin has lit her alive." The tree said. The image faltered and disappeared, leaving a semi satisfactory Queen.

"Very good Merthin…" she cooed.

"You did not need to follow my orders to learn and kill the girl like I had wanted." The Queen said. She snapped her fingers and the door opened to reveal Silvia who walked in.

"My Queen." Silvia bowed. Castile narrowed her eyes playfully when she looked at Merthin, a sneaky smile appearing on her lips. Draco knew now that Castile had something up her sleeve. He hated when she had anything up her sleeve.

"I would like to know if Merthin here tells the truth. He says he's kill the girl." Castile rasped. Draco looked at Silvia. She raised her arms and waved at the wall, leaving Draco and Merthin abashed. Silvia was a witch too in Castile. This explained the countless attempts to sneak and plot their ways out when they knew that Silvia and Castile had been looking over their shoulders, watching along.

"Merthin lies. He has murdered one of our guards and set him ablaze. The girl is alive and well and we give our gratitude to Merthin for that." Silvia said sneered. Castile smiled and let out a low laugh. The laugh followed along with her clapping and grew manically, waking up Draco's son who screeched. Draco cowered back, feeling helpless again and back to square one.

"Bring the guards in! And lock this man _up_!" Castile cackled, pointing a long white finger at Merthin.

"If you try anything, you will face the consequences old man." Silvia told Merthin. Merthin paled, looking at everyone around him like a gazelle trapped with lions circling him. Draco felt terrible to see Merthin in a state like this. He had tried to help him and Jade as much as he could and now he was being sent to the dungeons again for disobeying Castile. The guards went to grab Merthin but he apparated. The guards were baffled and quickly looked around to see if he were nearby but Merthin was long gone.

"Where has he gone?" Castile asked incredulously. Silvia herself looked appalled, looking around frantically for Merthin.

"I-I do not know your Majesty!" Silvia said. Draco smirked but Castile turned to him, glaring her ice cold blue eyes at him.

"Until he is not found with that _wench_, you will stay in a cellar." Castile hissed.

Draco shrugged, thinking it was one of the best ideas to come out of her mouth. He was going to stay in another room where she wasn't in? He'd rather live in a medieval toilet than to live with her for another night.

"Don't be too happy about it my dear Henry. My son the prince of Castile will stay with me. You didn't think I would make this too easy for you dear?" she asked. Silvia took Draco's son from his arms before he could retract himself. The guards grabbed on to Draco and dragged him off as he kicked and yelled.

"That's my _son_! He's no prince of Castile; he's not your _son_! I'll get you back on this Castile I swear I will. If you dare even harm a hair on his head, I'll fucking kill you!" Draco yelled.

The door closed and Draco was dragged up to the towers. He was thrown into a cellar, the same cellar Robert spent the night in before the morning of his hanging. It was also the same cellar where Jade was kept as a prisoner for a few days and had been starved for the time. The memories of her and Robert seared through his mind and felt like torture. Even the slightest glimpse of it sent Draco into a mode of panic. He had no idea how he was going to survive a night in a place like this.

* * *

Jade woke up in the morning to hear her daughter's throaty sounds. Jade slowly looked around, trying not to startle the pain that had been throbbing since giving birth. She saw Merthin sitting on the ground, against the wall with Jade's daughter in his arms. There was an absent look on his face as he mechanically dipped a clean rag into a bowl of milk and brought it to Jade's daughter who sucked on the rag, drinking the milk from it.

"I wondered what was missing this morning." Jade said. Merthin looked up, his eyes flashing in fear for a second. He then looked down at the baby.

"She was hungry and you were sleeping. I thought I would feed her." He said seeing Jade smile. He could see the small glimpses of anxiety flickering through her face. She furrowed her eyebrows, thinking to herself but quickly shut her eyes to dispel her thoughts.

"What are you thinking of?" Merthin asked softly. Jade looked up and quickly shook her head.

"It's stupid. I think it's my hormones that are acting up. I just feel like something's not quite right. Like something's missing…empty." Jade said, looking around. Merthin stood up from his place and held the baby out to Jade.

"It is probably the name you have yet to give her." Merthin said. Jade gently took her baby from Merthin and cradled her in her arms. She smiled, touching her cheeks and looked up at Merthin who returned a half hearted smile.

"Jenita." Jade immediately responded.

"That's unusual. Where did you get it from?" he asked, sitting in front of her.

"My mother," Jade said, looking back at Jenita and bringing the blanket out of her face. "Jenita was her name and she died when I was eleven. There are so many things I miss about her." Jade sighed. "We used to be a family…we were happy, but who's to say happiness remains forever? She died from pneumonia and my father remarried. It was never the same since." Jade said, brushing her fingers across the top of Jenita's soft blonde hair. "I promised myself that if I ever had children, I wouldn't sacrifice their happiness because I lost mine. That whenever they woke up, they'd wake up peacefully…not to some rattlesnake sitting on their stomach or in an era where their life is in danger." Jade said. Merthin sat there, staring and Jade.

"Jade, there's something I must tell you. It is the Queen." He said. "She knows where my loyalty lies and wants you and I both dead." He told her.

"I don't understand, how did she find out?" Jade asked.

"Silvia…she is a witch! I never had suspected it, nor could I see it. The Queen has played her cards well to keep an eye on me if I ever turned my back on her and she was right." Merthin said.

"But now what? What if they find us and-"

"I have kept this home disguised. No one, not even Silvia will be able to find us here. I control the trees, the rivers, the birds even up to the smallest ants in Castile! They bid to my orders and my orders only! Silvia will not be able to convince them to tell her where we are hiding." Merthin said. Jade gaped at him; feeling like this couldn't get any worse.

"So let me get this straight…Castile is looking for us…to kill us…what, does this mean we can't go out anymore? I won't be able to see Annabelle or Helena-"

"You must learn that nothing else is important than your life and your child's life. Think about Jenita! Would you risk her life just to see Annabelle and Helena?" Merthin asked, seeing Jade tear up.

"You don't understand Merthin…Annabelle and Helena lost Peter. I've lost Robert and she's seven months pregnant. We need each other. If I abandoned her, she'll have no one else but her mother. She can't afford to lose someone else she's loved." Jade said.

It took a great deal for Merthin to bear what she told him. He wanted to tell her to stay inside and be locked up forever, but that was highly unrealistic. He remembered when he lost his family; he always needed that extra support that he couldn't achieve by himself. Now that Jade was here, wishing to see Annabelle, Merthin couldn't say no. Her fiancé was murdered yesterday, she had twins where one of them was taken and given to the Queen. Merthin stood up and nodded at Jade.

"I will get Annabelle and Helena for you, but you must promise me one thing." He said seeing her nod. "Never step a foot out of this house." Merthin said.

* * *

Merthin had apparated to the castle in the towers where Annabelle and Helena resided after Peter's horrific death. He saw Annabelle sitting by herself, pregnant, with a plate of food next to her. She was staring out the window with a vacant expression on her face. Merthin quickly walked over towards Annabelle and held her hand.

"Annabelle." Merthin called out softly. Annabelle wasn't listening to him. She only stared out the window, her eyes blank. Merthin didn't want to take any chances, nor did he want to waste his time trying to get Annabelle to cooperate. He wrapped an arm around Annabelle and pulled her up to her feet.

"You must listen closely Annabelle. Hold on to my arm as tightly as you can. Where is your mother?" Merthin asked softly. Annabelle didn't answer and Merthin didn't press any further.

"Annabelle have you eaten your-" Helena walked in but stopped when she saw Merthin standing with Annabelle alongside.

"What are you-"

"Ssh!" Merthin hissed, placing a finger over his lips. "You must not speak so loudly! You must hold onto my hand and ask no questions!" Merthin said. Helena looked confused but Merthin held out his hand, wrapping it around her arm. "Jade has been asking for the both of you." he said softly. Helena's eyes widened and she gasped.

"Jade! Where is she?" she shouted. They heard a murmur of voices from outside and Merthin wasted no time to apparate.

Jade sat on her bed, running her fingers through her daughter's delicate hair. Jenita was sleeping deeply and it astounded Jade to see how healthy she came out to be. There was a constant cloud of worry chasing her every second while she was pregnant, reminding her that her child may or may not make it. Her body wasn't used to such harsh conditions but it barely made it.

"I love you…but don't I feel satisfied?" Jade asked softly. Her mind wandered off to Robert, feeling her heart sink. That was probably why she was feeling like a part of herself was missing. There was an audible _pop _and Jade saw Annabelle and Helena being accompanied by Merthin himself.

"Annabelle!" Jade exclaimed. She tried to sit up but Helena rushed towards her, shocked and delighted to see the baby.

"Jade! Jade! The baby! You had a baby!" Helena nearly screamed. She choked and started to sob and hugged Jade to congratulate her.

"She's so beautiful! Annabelle! Come have a look!" Helena said, her eyes still on Jenita. Jade looked at Annabelle whose coated exterior start to melt. She was watching Jenita and the tears started to well up. She slowly took a step forward, still looking at Jenita. Helena turned around and held Jenita up to Annabelle who touched Jenita's small pink fingers. As soon as Annabelle's hands came in contact with Jenita's skin, Annabelle broke down and cried so hard, Jenita woke up and cried with her. Jade immediately grabbed Annabelle and pulled her close.

"I'm here for you Belle. I love you…and I won't leave you." Jade promised.


	49. Dancing With The Trees

**Three months later**

"My Queen." Silvia bowed in front of Castile.

"What is it?" Castile asked, turning her head to look at her three month old son. He was sleeping in the finest silk, fur and jewels, ready to rule Castile if he had to.

"T-There is unfortunate news." Silvia said. The Queen turned around, her eyes sharply spotting Silvia who looked down to avert the Queen's gaze.

"I have just received news of an arrival in our land." Silvia said. There was no answer. Silvia blinked, waiting to hear something from the Queen but when she didn't answer, Silvia slowly slid her eyes to see the Queen gaping. It was obvious that she was extremely shocked, but why?

"Is something the matter your grace?" Silvia asked quickly. The Queen kept her eyes wide and her dry, pale blue lips quivered.

"That…cannot be possible. W-Who…" the Queen asked, looking lost. Her face turned into a snarl and she whipped around threateningly. "_Who are they_?" the Queen hissed. Silvia shook from her spot and answered immediately.

"I do not know your highness! They are a band of foreigners, arriving with a Portkey." Silvia said. The Queen went into a fit of rage. She walked over to her son, Henry III.

"This is not _possible_! How many have my father made without my knowledge?" Castile asked. Silvia looked at little Henry, knowing how astonished the Queen must have felt.

"It is not _possible _for there to be two Portkeys! If I have the first Portkey…where is the other one?" Castile asked.

"My Queen, there has been no word of the other Portkey. If it were not for Merthin controlling the forest and interfering with my magic, things would have been less difficult to find out." Silvia said.

"Lose one wizard, you gain an idiot. I do not care to know how you do it Silvia, but I want to be informed of the foreigners. I cannot afford to lose everything that I have been waiting for, for 99 years." Castile said. Silvia nodded as the Queen took off her crown and inspected herself.

"If my crown is the second Portkey…" she trailed off, turning towards Silvia who took a few seconds for the realization to register.

"The second Portkey…the…the King's crown!" Silvia gasped. There was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Castile said. The door opened and a guard stood there with Silvia's youngest daughter standing behind him. She bowed deeply, not looking up.

"You highness…there another Portkey has arrived in Castile. It is sitting in the Oratory." Silvia's youngest daughter said.

* * *

"Did you think we had to be prepared for motherhood _this _early?" Jade asked, helping Helena and Annabelle skin potatoes while Merthin had been out, looking for dry wood for the stove. Annabelle was expected to give birth at any time, keeping Merthin, Jade and Helena ready. Helena giggled and shook her head.

"I had my first child, Annabelle's brother when I was sixteen." Helena said. Annabelle sat against the stone wall, giving up on skinning the potatoes.

"Of course he had died and I had Annabelle four years later." Helena said. Jade smiled and looked down to Jenita who stuck her tongue out and widened her steel grey eyes. She was wrapped up in a sling around Jade's body to keep her close at all times. It was much more convenient to feed as well.

"Jen I fed you a few minutes ago, what do you want now?" Jade asked, rearranging Jenita in her sling. Jenita made an aggressive sound in return and Jade thought she was looking back at Draco.

"You win." Jade said.

Before she could feed Jenita, the crystal stone started glowing, filling up the room with bright lights.

"What does this mean?" Helena asked. Jade got up and picked up the stone.

"Merthin's in some sort of trouble." Jade said. Helena and Annabelle raised their eyebrows at Jade.

"What if it is a trap? What if he is captured by the Queen's men?" Helena asked. Jade shook her head and smiled at Helena.

"Merthin wouldn't put my life in danger. You stay put here with Annabelle and we'll be back." Jade said. She leaned forward and kissed Helena and Annabelle goodbye.

"Make sure Jenita doesn't catch a cold in the snow." Helena said. Jade left her small cottage and wrapped a heavy wool cloak around herself. She looked down at Jenita and pressed her closer to her chest.

"Don't worry love, Mummy will feed you quickly." Jade said. She grabbed a tall wooden stick that Merthin had cut out to track through the snow. In three months the snow fell continuously, making Castile a serene scene out of a painting but Jade knew that was far from the truth. Once in a while, Merthin would get a whiff of the Queen's army traveling through the forest in hopes of capturing them but before that, Merthin would gather Jade, Helena and Annabelle together and wait silently as they heard the armies marching off. Their cottage was hidden from any muggle eye, just like Hogwarts had been hidden. Jenita cooed from underneath the cloak and Jade rubbed her back as she trailed up the snowy path, through the naked trees.

"Merthin?" Jade called out. She walked forward to see a pile of wood stacked together and tied in a bundle. The trees rustled nearby and Jade looked up to see Merthin step out with a limp.

"Merlin, Merthin, are you all right?" Jade asked, hurrying over towards him.

"I've injured myself just a bit." He winced. Jade pulled him over to the stack of wood and sat him down.

"How did this happen?" Jade asked crouching down. She pulled off his leather shoe and touched his swelling ankle.

"I simply lost my balance! To think I am becoming a delicate and fragile old man terrifies me." Merthin said. Jade shook her head grinning and tied Merthin's ankle tightly.

"I'm pretty sure you were dancing with the trees again." Jade said seeing him give her a stiff look.

"The trees were dancing with _me_! It is never the other way around Jade." He said as Jade helped him up.

He went to turn to pick the stack of wood by himself but it floated weakly by itself. He turned around to see Jade's hand over it, her face in deep concentration to keep it up. He wasn't surprised; in fact he was rather pleased by her obstinacy to practice. Jenita cried and kicked Jade, sending her concentration out of the window. The bundle dropped and Jade looked down at her daughter.

"Someday you're going to give me a premature grey hair." Jade said. Jenita grunted in return and Merthin laughed, clapping his hands together thunderously.

"Children understand better than adults. A truly remarkable gift that one." Merthin said. Jade started to walk with him as they both held the bundle on both sides to take it home.

"Jen's a bit mischievous, I could-" Jade stopped when she heard something rustling against the trees again. She stood there with Merthin who pulled her back in case of any danger.

"Show yourself!" Merthin demanded, raising his hands.

The leaves rustled and parted. A familiar figure stepped out, looking at Merthin and Jade serenely.

"_Dumbledore_?!" Jade screamed.

"And I have not come alone. Nicolas Flamel, Auror Moody, Auror Tonks, Auror Lupin and Professor Snape!" he said. Jade saw a very short and round man with a flaming red beard and hair stepped out, brushing himself off.

"Dumbledore…it is a great honor to meet you again." Merthin said. Dumbledore smiled and extended his hand for Merthin to shake.

"Likewise, Merthin." Dumbledore said.


	50. The Forest Sings

Jade gaped, wondering if this was a cruel joke. She stared at Dumbledore, Moody, Tonks, Lupin and Snape like she was slapped upside the head by each and every single one of them. Nothing was coming to her mind. Maybe it would have been nice to start off with a hello? No one said anything for a few seconds and before Dumbledore could break the silence, Moody spoke up.

"The forest isn't the safest place for a conversation." Moody said. He walked off, his magical eye rotating madly. Merthin nodded and showed them the way towards the cottage.

"This way please! And watch your step!" he said.

* * *

"Tea?" Dumbledore asked as he held out a plate and a cup for Helena who shook her head.

Jenita groaned in protest, her temper starting to rise. Jade took her out of the sling and tried to bounce her in her arms but Jenita twisted herself around, creating a tantrum. She saw Snape watching her awkwardly as Tonks and Lupin spoke to each other in private. Of course it was awkward to watch the student that had been abducted more than a year ago with a child already in her arms. Moody was sitting down in an identical plush red chair that Dumbledore kindly accommodated, but his body was tense and he kept looking around as if he expected something to jump out so he could counter it.

"I'm sorry; my daughter's a little restless today. I really don't know why." Jade said, shifting a skirmish Jenita in her arms.

"Allow me Miss Harper." Dumbledore said. He tapped a wooden bowl that Jade would usually eat out of and it transformed into a small pacifier. He gently handed it to Jade who thanked him and touched it to Jenita's lips. Jenita latched on to the pacifier and blinked, resting in her mother's arms.

"So, how did you find me?" Jade asked Dumbledore. She saw Tonks and Lupin give a brief smile towards Merthin who looked bashful.

"Mr. Flamel had been kind enough to lend his Portkey to find you." Dumbledore said softly. Nicolas Flamel chuckled lightly, his cheeks turning bright red.

"And it hadn't been easy either. Albus spent a year to find me and when he did, he told me that two of his students had gone missing with the first Portkey." Flamel said. Jade furrowed her eyebrows and Nicolas continued. "But by the time he caught up with me, I told him I had buried it! We have spent _months_ trying to recover the Portkey which was located deep inside of a cave for a half of a century!" Flamel said.

"As soon as Dumbledore and the others arrived, I had been informed. You couldn't imagine my shock when I saw a group of strangers arrive in Castile with a different Portkey. Soon enough I came in contact with them before Silvia and the Queen could and discovered that I was speaking to the man who had escaped Castile so many years ago." Merthin said.

"Merthin told us what happened during the time you and Mr. Malfoy arrived on the way here." Dumbledore said. Snape curled his lip into a nasty smirk.

"It's quite fitting for Draco to be a King of a place like this." Snape said. Jade wanted to tell Snape that she agreed but Dumbledore continued on as if he hadn't even been interrupted.

"We are here to take you and your family home and we will not leave until we do. We must retrieve Draco and your-"

"The Queen's crown." Merthin said quickly before Dumbledore mentioned Jade's son. Dumbledore quickly looked up at Merthin, being reminded that he wasn't supposed to talk about Jade's son.

"Draco and my what?" Jade asked curiously.

"You're going to take Jade away? Where are you taking her?" Helena spoke up for the first time.

Everyone turned themselves towards her. She stood in her place, next to Annabelle. Jade could see that she had been completely worn down from everything. She had lost her husband, her son, her son in law and now a group of strangers were discussing taking Jade and Jenita away from her.

"She doesn't belong here, that's why we're taking her back." Tonks explained. Helena couldn't understand and that was natural. Why should she make sense of these people telling her that they would take the person she had accepted as a daughter, away from her? Before Helena could say anything, Dumbledore stood up and waved towards the bedroom.

"I would like to have a few words with you Miss Harper." Dumbledore said. Jade nodded and got up with Jenita still in her arms. She walked towards the bedroom with Dumbledore behind her and set Jenita on the bed who drowsed off to sleep. Jade gave a small smile to Dumbledore and gestured him a seat.

"After you Miss Harper." He said lightly. Jade nodded again and took a seat on the bed. With a flick of his wand, Dumbledore conjured up the same plush red chair that he had been sitting on in the living area. He sat in front of Jade and tucked the wand back into his robes.

"Before I speak of anything regarding to your safe and sound visit home, I must convey my deepest and sincerest apologies. If I had not foolishly brought the Portkey in before its destruction, your lives would not have been put in great risk." Dumbledore said. Jade shook her head, feeling herself start to tear.

"No Professor…you ended up _finding_ us. You knew there was a possibility that we could have ended up dead…but after a year and a half you bothered to come into this…world." Jade shuddered. She looked up at Dumbledore and smiled. "And this might sound bizarre but thank you." she nearly whispered. "I've experienced more than I ever have in my entire life living as a normal human being. I've met so many friends here…honest friends, friends who don't want anything from me in return. Family…that I haven't been able to be fortunate to experience. My daughter." Jade said, touching Jenita's soft bare knee. Robert also came to mind but Jade chose not to tell Dumbledore the entire saga. Dumbledore's features softened as he looked off to a corner.

"Sometimes people find family within strangers and homes within abroad." He said.

Jade and Dumbledore walked into the living area where Nicolas, Merthin, Moody, Lupin, Tonks and Snape were crouching together around Annabelle and Helena.

"What's going on?" Jade asked, immediately walking over towards Annabelle. Tonks looked up, her dark eyes sparkling.

"She's having the baby." She whispered. Jade looked back at Annabelle, seeing that Helena had her braced against a heavy chiseled stone. Her face started to perspire with sweat but it was quickly dabbed by Helena.

"Severus…an anesthetic potion would be of great comfort for Miss Annabelle." Dumbledore said.

"I suppose." Snape muttered, slowly standing up. "Perhaps if I knew where the ingredients were-"

"Merthin would know where the willow bark, arnica, cinnamon and capsaicin seeds are." Jade said to Snape who slowly raised his eyebrows.

"Remind myself to pass you once we go back to Hogwarts Miss Harper." Snape said. Merthin waved his large hand toward Snape and helped him out of the cottage. Jade knelt down towards Annabelle and smoothed her hair out.

"Ready to give birth to my niece or nephew?" Jade asked seeing Annabelle give her a nervous chuckle. Jade smiled at her, seeing her face relax. She rested against the stone, as the contractions faded. "She's getting those damn contractions. They'll come back and tell us how far she is from giving birth." Jade said, stroking Annabelle's hand.

Lupin and Moody walked away with Dumbledore to let Tonks, Jade, and Helena take care of Annabelle. Snape and Merthin came back a half an hour later with a basketful of ingredients and soon enough the cottage was filled with a sweet and sharp scent of the anesthetic potion.

"I've heard a lot about you and Malfoy back in the Wizarding World." Tonks said while holding a very pacified Jenita in her lap. Jade pressed a cool and wet towel against Annabelle's forehead and looked at Tonks seeing her give her a half hearted smile. "I saw you once at the station with Harry…I don't know if you saw me then, but I do remember seeing you. It was shocking to hear about you disappearing into a world like this but here I am, sitting in front of you in that very same world." Tonks said seeing Jade smile.

"I've been told a few times that no one else made it out alive. I guess the most shocking thing is that not only did I barely manage to live, I had a child!" Jade said. The two women giggled and looked towards Annabelle who tensed in pain.

"She's ready." Helena said, walking over to them. Jade watched Snape administer the potion to Annabelle and soon after, there was a calm that settled over her face. Jade wished that it had been the same during her birth. Giving birth without any sort of anesthetic was probably worse than a Hippogriff attack.

Annabelle trembled as Tonks and Jade tightly held her hands. Helena was crouched, placing a few rags for the baby.

"Do you feel anything Belle?" Jade asked Annabelle who shook her head. Helena nodded and patted Annabelle's knee.

"Get ready to push darling." She said. Annabelle shuddered as she drew her breath and pushed, squeezing her eyes tightly. Annabelle gave a few pushes and Jade looked up to see Tonks staring wide eyed as Annabelle pushed. Jade chuckled, holding Annabelle's hand tighter.

"Don't worry, she won't feel a thing." Jade said to Tonks who looked up.

"What?" she squeaked.

"As long as you don't look at the baby coming out, you'll be fine." Jade said. The look on Tonks face never moved. She sat there, still staring wide eyed at Annabelle.

"Oh! I can see the baby's head! Keep pushing Annabelle!" Helena encouraged. Annabelle was shining with sweat as she made the effort to push the baby out. Little by little, the baby was pushed and squirmed out. Helena smiled as the baby choked and cried.

"A beautiful little girl!" Helena said, holding up Annabelle's daughter. She was wriggling and crying, bloodied and naked. Helena quickly wiped the baby with a blanket and handed her to Annabelle. Jade and Annabelle marveled at the baby for a few seconds until they started to sob.

"She looks so beautiful…and small." Jade said, kissing her small hands. Annabelle hiccupped in her own sobs and fell back, feeling exhausted from giving birth. Jade immediately took Annabelle's daughter from Annabelle as Helena and Tonks lied Annabelle down.

"Dumbledore." Nicolas quickly piped up. Jade looked up at Nicolas, seeing him give Dumbledore a nervous look. "I think it is best if we go to the castle as quickly as we can. We are unsure of what the Queen might do with the Portkeys." Nicolas said.

"Wait." Jade said, standing up. "The Queen has both of the Portkeys?" Jade asked seeing Nicolas nod.

"I am afraid so my child." Nicolas said. Jade looked confused and she looked at Merthin who was equally perplexed.

"Why do these Portkeys keep going to the castle?" Jade asked.

"Because the Queen's late father was a wizard himself." Dumbledore answered. "King Castile made two Portkeys, one for his wife and the other for himself. From what we've heard, the King had been very fond of his wife and as a gift, he presented the Portkeys to sit on themselves and whenever they wanted, they could use the Portkey to visit a dear friend." Dumbledore said, nodding at Nicolas who nodded back with a short smile.

"You made the Portkeys?" Jade asked. Nicolas nodded and with a resigned sigh, he took a seat.

"I was more than happy to make the King and Queen's Portkeys. The King was a great man; a fair ruler. His only child had been born a squib…a princess to inherit the throne. However it wasn't soon until Young Castile had gotten married to her suitor, Prince Henry III. She was madly in love with Prince Henry…but sad to say, he never quite reciprocated the love." Nicolas explained.

Jade nodded, feeling a bit awkward to think about Draco getting married to Castile again.

"Prince Henry who soon became King after King Castile's death had a very important hand in the Portkey's disappearance…or at least one of them." Dumbledore said. Jade cocked her head to the side, looking at Dumbledore and Nicolas with a strange curiosity.

"Do you mean to say Prince…or King Henry _left_ with the Portkey away from Castile? He was a wizard too?" Jade asked seeing Nicolas nod.

"King Henry was not only a wizard; he had left after impregnating the Queen…which ended in a tragic miscarriage. After that she completely lost her mind…there was no one by her side…no one of magic blood to retrieve the Portkey-" Merthin went to explain but Jade cut him off.

"What about the other Portkey? Where did the other Portkey go?" Jade asked.

"I shall answer that." Nicolas intervened. Merthin nodded and Nicolas went on. "You see, while Young Castile was growing up, she knew she was different. She couldn't perform magic the way her mother and father would and it frustrated her. Growing up as a child and knowing from very early on that you lacked a gift that your parents were born with…something you should have been born with…that takes a toll on one's mental and emotional being. Therefore Young Castile had started to resent her parents and wanted to acquire the power herself. The two Portkeys that she had seen her mother and father wear…she wanted them for herself…and the only way she could get them was if she would claim the throne." Nicolas said.

"She killed her parents?" Tonks asked.

"Only her mother." Dumbledore answered.

"And her father?" Jade asked.

"King Castile had soon found out that his very daughter killed her mother…his wife, so he disappeared with the Portkey…never to be seen again." Helena said from the corner of the room. Everyone turned towards her, seeing her still wipe Annabelle's face with a wet cloth. She nodded sadly and went back to Annabelle who slept soundly.

"I helped the King escape; otherwise she would have killed him and taken the second Portkey. She stole the first one from her mother and the second; she was waiting to put it on King Henry's head." Nicolas said.

"Exactly what _is_ the Portkey?" Jade asked.

"Think about it Jade. What is waited to be inherited from a royal family? What had King Henry made for him and his wife that Castile couldn't have until she was a Queen herself?" Dumbledore asked. Jade shook her head, shrugging as she thought.

"I don't know…a throne maybe?" Jade asked.

"Oh no...so stupid." Merthin said, shaking his head.

"Thanks Merthin." Jade shot back.

"No, not you; _me_! How could I have been so foolish? The crowns! I should have known that her crown was the Portkey itself! How could I have been so blind! The answer was facing me the entire time and I hadn't a clue. I could not tell that she had been wearing a different crown since your arrival!" Merthin said, rubbing his face.

"Hang on for just a second! The bloody Portkey didn't look like a bloody crown when I first touched it!" Jade said to Dumbledore.

"The King had requested that these Portkeys look unusual to a foreign world so it would not attract attention to thieves and those of sort." Nicolas explained.

"So you helped King Castile escape Castile after she murdered his wife?" Jade asked Nicolas, seeing him nod.

"And then she inherits the throne with Prince Henry who hates her but impregnates her, finds out about the Portkey, takes it and splits off into _our world_ where in the meantime she suffers a miscarriage and becomes all alone until Merthin and Silvia come in to give her a wonderful position of enchanted forests, talking animals and a castle where she can monitor everything that comes and goes?" Jade asked.

Everyone froze, thinking things over.

"In a nutshell, yes…but you also forget that during a hundred or so years, so many people have stumbled across the Portkey that Prince Henry had abandoned. They were transported here and were killed while the equal number of times, the wizards who knew that Castile's crown was a Portkey itself, stole it and transported back to our world. This ping pong between two worlds where people were slaughtered by Castile's wizards…until Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald were accidentally transported here." Nicolas said, giving a disapproving look towards Dumbledore that a school teacher would do to a naughty school child. Dumbledore only simply smiled at the memory.

"We were curious creatures." Dumbledore said.

"They were so curious, they broke into my cupboard and transported themselves…but they managed to bring themselves back." Nicolas said.

"How in the world did you do that?" Jade asked.

"It's the same question I ask myself every single day. They slipped right through my fingers, the both of them. They were highly intelligent and powerfully trained. They ended up enchanting the forest themselves and for once, the hunted became the hunters." Merthin said. Dumbledore stood up and gestured out the door.

"And now we must recreate history once again. Before anything, we must reach the Portkey-"

Dumbledore stopped suddenly to hear a baby crying frantically from outside of the cottage. Jade's instant reflex was to see if Jenita and Annabelle's daughter was all right. She saw Jenita still sitting in Tonks' arms with the pacifier still in her mouth, kicking her legs around. Annabelle's daughter was snug and warm against Jade's chest, sleeping heavily.

"Step back." Moody whispered to Jade when she went towards the door. Everyone had been frozen in their spots, hearing the cries of the baby coming closer. They heard someone hushing the baby, reaching the door. There was a heavy knock, making Jade jump from her spot. Annabelle whimpered and Helena squeaked from the corner, hearing the knocks persist and get louder.

"Hello? Anyone there? Jade? Merthin? Where did you both go?" Jade felt like her breath was taken away from her, hearing his voice. Dumbledore reached the door and opened it with Moody, Snape, Lupin, Merthin and Nicolas Flamel closely behind.

"A pleasure to see you once again Mr. Malfoy." Dumbledore greeted.

Jade poked her head out of the door, seeing Draco stand in tattered clothes, his face with a beard smeared with dirt with a three month baby in his arms. The baby looked well clothed in a white silk cloth with gold jewelry with blue jewels. The baby also had soft platinum blonde hair and in Draco's arms, there wasn't anyone who couldn't deny that the child wasn't his.

"Dumbledore? What the fuck are you doing here?" Draco asked incredulously.

"A strange way to greet your elders." Nicolas muttered, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry, it seems as if being stuck in another dimension for nearly two years made me care less…who are you supposed to be?" Draco asked.

"Nicolas Flamel…pleased to finally meet you." Nicolas said, none too enthusiastically.

"How did _you_ escape from the castle?" Merthin asked, looking deathly pale. Draco's face went stiff as he looked at Merthin.

"Are you joking Merthin? You _just_ helped me escape with Jade." Draco said, pointing to Jade who was carrying Annabelle's daughter.

"What?" Jade and Merthin asked.

"Trust me; I'm not going back in." Draco said, walking towards them.

"Wrong, we are going back." Dumbledore told him. Draco narrowed his eyes at Dumbledore.

"Are you _insane_? We nearly killed ourselves and risked my son's life by trying to escape that place and you want us to go back?" Draco asked.

"Yes, please." Dumbledore said pleasantly. Draco scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief.

"You've got to be nutters old man. There isn't a thing that could change my heart to look back at that castle. You'd have to kill me first." Draco said.

"Then we will find a way to arrange that." A cold and smooth voice said. Behind Draco stood the Queen of Castile, in her pristine robes with a slow grin appearing on her face. Behind her were an army of guards, Silvia and her daughters, smirking.


	51. Time Turners In The 1300's

Jade didn't know how to respond to either Draco or the Queen of Castile. She should have been shocked to see them both but needed to pause her life for a few moments to reevaluate her surroundings. What had Draco meant when he said he came back because of his son and his mother? Surely this wasn't her son, she never had one. She kept staring at the three month old boy, seeing some of her features staring back at her and the rest was Draco. Was he hallucinating something? What gave him the impression that Jade and Merthin set him free? They were inside the cottage the entire time.

"Your Highness, may I introduce myself?" Dumbledore asked politely. Everyone looked towards Dumbledore, wondering if he was usually this calm under circumstances like these. The Queen seemed to wonder herself and raised an eyebrow, studying him thoroughly.

"Speak." She said. Dumbledore gave a small bow and placed a hand over his heart.

"I am Albus Dumbledore and with myself, I bring you Nicolas Flamel; the carrier of the Philosopher's Stone!" he said. Silvia and her daughters gasped, taking a step back. The guards lowered their weapons, looking at each other with befuddlement.

"Albus Dumbledore…who has escaped Castile. Where is the other one?" the Queen asked, glancing behind him.

"You won't find him here. He hasn't come." Dumbledore explained.

"I don't believe you; why should I?" the Queen asked. Dumbledore's face softened and he bowed deeply before her.

"Whether you believe in me or not is not the matter of interest at hand your Majesty. I have come for two…or shall I say more than two specific reasons." He said.

The Queen's icy gaze quickly flittered towards Draco, his son and Jade who was carrying Annabelle's daughter.

"He is my husband and she is my servant. They will go _nowhere_." The queen said. Annabelle's daughter gave a small cry from Jade's arms. Jade couldn't have been put in a more awkward spot.

"Jade, please take the baby inside to the mother for feeding." Dumbledore said.

"I do not think so Dumbledore." Castile hissed.

"After feeding the baby, we shall all go to the castle and negotiate the ownership of the Philosopher's stone." Dumbledore said calmly. This was enough for the Queen's interest and Jade wasted no time in leaving into the cottage.

"Merthin, Jade has dropped her necklace. Return it to her." Dumbledore said to Merthin who nodded and left behind Jade.

"I want to see the Philosopher's stone so I know you aren't wasting my time Dumbledore." The Queen said.

Jade walked into the cottage to see Annabelle looking paler than usual and lolling her head back and forth weakly.

"What's happened to her?" Jade asked, rushing towards Annabelle. Helena had a bowl of blood sitting next to her as she wrung a rag of blood into it.

"The bleeding hasn't stopped. It should have stopped when the afterbirth came out." Helena said. Before Jade could turn around and call Dumbledore or Snape for help, Merthin grabbed her hand and shook a Time Turner in front of her.

"What is this?" he asked. Jade's jaw dropped as she stared at the Time Turner.

"Merthin, how did you get this?" Jade asked, taking the Time Turner from him.

"Dumbledore gave it to me while Annabelle was giving birth. He told me to give you the necklace when he would say so!" Merthin said.

"Why would Dumbledore tell you to give it to me?" Jade asked. Merthin shrugged, looking at the Time Turner.

"I figured he knew that you knew what to do with it." Merthin said. Jade paused, looking at the Time Turner. The pieces had started to fit together in her mind. She knew exactly what the Time Turner was for. She knew about the third year incident with Sirius Black and Buckbeak, thanks to this very device.

"Follow me Merthin." Jade said, looping the necklace around their necks. They left using the back door, hearing Dumbledore still speaking.

"Where are you going?" Helena asked seeing Merthin and Jade turn around.

"We'll be back in a second." Jade whispered.

"I'm not sure with what this does." Merthin said as Jade adjusted the Time Turner behind for an hour. Helena disappeared from the doorway. Their shadows and the shadows of the trees, the cottage and bushes quickly adjusted to an hour earlier to the sun. Jade quickly took the Time Turner from Merthin's neck and grabbed his hand. They heard voices from the front of the house and quietly leaned forward to see Merthin leading Dumbledore, Nicolas Flamel, Tonks, Moody, Lupin and Snape into the cottage. Jade heard Merthin gasp sharply, seeing himself an hour earlier.

"How is this possible?" Merthin asked as Jade pulled him out of their sights.

"We don't have a lot of time Merthin. We need to apparate to the castle quickly!" Jade said.

"But-"

"_Merthin_!" Jade hissed. Merthin quickly apparated with Jade, taking her to the dungeons of Castile. Jade wasted no time in traveling up, taking the corridors and stairs towards the Queen's room.

"Why are you going that way?" Merthin asked, grabbing Jade's arm.

"To get Draco and the baby he was carrying." Jade said. Merthin shook his head and pulled her away from the Queen's room.

"The King has been imprisoned. He won't be in the Queen's room." Merthin said, nervously looking around, in case anyone was near.

"Why is he imprisoned? And who was that baby?" Jade asked. There was an anxious look that crossed Merthin's face as he looked towards the Queen's room. "The Portkeys and the baby is in the Queen's room." Merthin said.

"And Draco's up in the towers…how do we get them out?" Jade asked.

"We must create a diversion!" Merthin whispered. He bolted off, towards the dungeons where they had originally been in.

"Merthin! We haven't got time! We need to have Draco and the baby out at exactly the right time!" Jade said.

"Yes, yes, yes but there must be something to divert the Queen's attention so we can have both without trouble. Ah!" he said, spotting two smooth rocks. He grabbed them and ran towards a stack of hay.

"What are you doing?" Jade asked. Merthin struck the two stones together repeatedly as sparks appeared. The sparks touched the hay, creating a small fire.

"They shall burn on their own." Merthin said. Jade nodded and followed him out and shut the door behind them. They quickly made their way out of the corridor and went upstairs, occasionally hiding from a passing guard on duty or a servant. They took the spiral staircase up and heard a bloodcurdling scream from downstairs.

"Fire! Fire in the dungeons!" one of the servants screamed from below.

Jade and Merthin quickly hid behind a corridor as they saw the two guards running from the room where Draco was held captive. As soon as they left, Merthin tapped Jade's shoulder and the both of them ran up the stone staircase. Jade ran into the room, seeing the floor as filthy as possible. Her eyes focused in on Draco who was sitting in the corner with his arms crossed. He was staring at the wall in front of him, looking dangerously thin with dirt smeared all over him, looking criminally insane.

"D-Draco." Jade stuttered, holding on to the bars. Draco snapped his head towards her, his eyes widening when he saw her.

"No." he said in disbelief.

"How do we get him out Merthin? We don't even have keys." Jade said, looking for a way to get Draco out. She shook the prison bars, knowing it was completely useless to but she did it anyways.

"We do not need keys. We are wizards!" Merthin said, holding the bars as well. Jade furrowed her eyebrows at him and he nodded, looking at the bars. "I cannot do it alone. You must help me. Use what I have taught you these past few months. Focus your entire being and energy through these metal bars." Merthin encouraged. Jade nodded and looked at Draco who took a few steps back. The energy she was holding inside of her started to pull into the bars. She kept her mind and body consistent as she channeled the power through her arms. The bars where her hand had been in contact started pulsating with golden lights.

"_PUSH_!" Merthin yelled. Jade held the bars tightly and gave a hard shove. The entire face of the cell broke off, leaving a few bricks from the roof to crumble to the floor. Draco helped Jade and Merthin push the bars out of the way to the side. As soon as the bars were cleared, they let go, trying to regain their breath.

"I can't believe I did it. I finally…wow." Jade said seeing Merthin bark in laughter.

"You were wonderful! I was happy I did not need to poke you with a needle this time." He said. Jade shook her head and looked at Draco who had quietly been watching them all throughout this time.

"Are you…all right?" Jade asked. Draco clenched his jaw in anger and looked at Merthin who looked to the ground in shame.

"You told me she was _dead_!" Draco roared. He grabbed Merthin's collar and slammed him into the wall. "For three months Merthin. Three _fucking_ months I sat in that cell thinking why the _fuck_ you would do that to her! Do you know how it feels like, Merthin?" Draco asked, shaking him.

"Draco! Let him go! You're going to kill him!" Jade said, taking a grasp on Draco's arm. She tried to push him off but Draco kept a harder grip on Merthin. He stared at him ferociously, angry over something that Jade didn't understand.

"You do not understand Draco. It was the only way I could have saved her." Merthin choked out.

"You're _choking _him! Let him go!" Jade said, pushing him off as hard as she could. Draco turned around to Jade.

"You want me to spare his life after he took your son away from you? You want me to spare his life after he gave our son to that old bitch?" Draco spat. Jade was entirely confused, wondering what on earth Draco was babbling about. When she looked at Merthin for answers, she saw that he was looking at the ground, avoiding to look at her.

"Merthin, what's he talking about?" Jade asked him. Draco looked at Jade, wondering if she had gone crazy or stupid.

"What do you mean what am I talking about? Don't you remember giving birth? What were you pregnant all these months for?" he asked.

"I had a daughter…not a son." Jade said seeing Draco look at Merthin.

"Tell us exactly what the fuck is going on." Draco snarled.

"I-"

They all heard one of the guards return. He stopped dead when he saw Draco, Jade and Merthin standing in front of him. It took only a few seconds when Draco grabbed the guard and slammed his head into a brick wall. The guard slumped on to the floor and Draco grabbed the torch from the wall, setting the guard on fire.

"Are you insane? You knocked him out and-"

"Trust me I could have torn him apart but that would have taken time. Try sitting in a cell for three months listening to him taunt you about your…never mind." Draco said, looking uncomfortable. Jade wanted to press into the matter of finding out about the confusion of giving birth to a son, but time was running out.

"We have to leave. We've wasted enough time as it is." Jade said, starting to leave.

"Merthin needs to explain-"

"This isn't the time Malfoy. We have to find the baby and the Portkeys." Jade said sternly. They hurried down the spiral staircase, seeing that everyone had disappeared to keep themselves busy with the fire that blazed uproariously in the dungeons.

"Find out who did this!" the Queen growled at Silvia who quivered next to her.

"She's not in her room." Draco whispered to Jade who led them towards the Queen's room.

"But her guard is." Jade said, peeking from the end of the corridor. The guard was standing in front of the door and left Jade wondering how this was going to be done.

"I will distract him. You both take the Portkeys and your son back to the cottage." Merthin said. Jade gave Merthin a questioned look and he looked back down to the ground again. "When you gave birth that night, you not only gave birth to your daughter, but a son as well." He said. Merthin cleared his throat and continued.

"I had to separate you from your child…and you, My King, from Jade and Jenita. The reason why Jade was kept alive throughout all this time was because the Queen was expecting an heir from her. As soon as she would receive the heir of her throne, she would immediately see to Jade's death and I could have never let that happen. I was compelled to save your life…even if it meant to give birth to your two children and altering your memory. I needed to go to the castle and give the Queen her consolation and the only reason why I gave her your son was because I knew the King would be there to nurture the child as well…but what I didn't expect was Silvia to ruin everything." Merthin said.

Jade was thrown completely off track, staring at Merthin dumbly. To process in her mind that she had _two _children not one seemed to overwhelm her. The same piece of news to Draco had the same effect on him as well. He gaped at Merthin but had realized that he couldn't blame him anymore.

"We have no time left." Merthin said. He ran out from the corridor they were hiding in, into plain sight of the guard. "Ho there! I've returned, you block of half wit!" Merthin yelled, swinging his arms above his head.

"Merthin-"

"Ssh, he owes us one." Draco said to Jade. They heard the guard starting to run and Merthin ran off, leading the guard away from the Queen's door. As soon as Merthin and the guard disappeared, Draco and Jade ran into the Queen's room. They found their son sleeping soundly in his gold and silver crib.

"And I thought I was over the worst part of my life." Jade said, looking over him. Tears brimmed in her eyes, seeing her three month old son who she couldn't even remember holding or giving birth to.

"I hate being here." Draco said, scooping their son up. Quickly wiping her cheeks, Jade looked around for the crowns.

"There it is." Jade said, seeing it sitting on a plush square pillow. Jade grabbed her sling and wrapped it around the crown to avoid making direct contact with the Portkey.

"Where's the other crown?" Jade asked Draco who went to ask why she was stealing a crown.

"On her dusty cracked skull…why?" Draco asked. Jade shook her head and started off.

"I need you to run off into the forest without me. You'll have to walk a little fast though, but you'll see a cottage." Jade said, seeing him raise his eyebrows.

"You're fucking joking right? I'm not leaving you for another minute again-"

"Trust me. I'm not risking your lives this time. Please listen to me just this once Draco. For the sake of our son and Jenita, you'll do just as I say." Jade pressed. Draco didn't push her; instead he swallowed his pride and listened to her. He put an arm around her and kissed her forehead.

"Keep yourself safe. I can deal with losing you from time to time but not when I have to lose you permanently." He said. Her throat started to constrict and Jade turned away from him, leaving to find Merthin.

Jade ran from room to room in the direction where Merthin ran off to with the guard. After seeing the empty and vacant rooms, Jade headed upstairs, feeling restless that her time was slipping quickly out of her hands.

"My Queen! The King has escaped into the forest! He carries the Prince along with him!" one of Silvia's daughter shrieked. Jade couldn't see the Queen's face when this was said but she could picture how badly she had taken it.

"Prepare the horses. We must leave at once." The Queen said. She quickly left out of the castle as the servants ran out, fetching their horses and alerting the guards.

"What do we have here?" a coarse voice asked near Jade's ear. Jade quickly turned around to see a guard standing behind her, grinning ear to ear with his rotten teeth.

"Please-" the guard swung at Jade, backslapping her. Jade was knocked off her feet and landed in the ground. She tried to crawl away but the guard grabbed her ankles and pulled her towards him.

"Not so fast. Stay put or I'll cut your tongue off!" he snarled, settling on top of her.

"I'd rather you do that." Jade said. She spat in his face, seeing him flinch and give her a nasty look.

"Peasant!" he said. He wrapped his hands around her neck and squeezed as Jade choked and moved her legs around. She saw him grinning down at her with his hands pressing against her throat, blocking her air to breathe. A dark figure appeared leaping behind him, sending the guard off of Jade. The air went back to Jade's lungs and there couldn't be a better feeling. Jade turned around, seeing Merthin's Animagus tearing the guard up from limb to limb. Blood spattered everywhere on the walls and ground as Merthin pulled and tore.

"Merthin! Merthin stop!" Jade said. Merthin paused and looked up from the bloodied body and licked.

"That's enough." Jade said. Merthin looked back at the body.

"I suppose you are right. We must go back to the cottage. Our work here is done." Merthin said seeing Jade nod.

Merthin trotted off, swinging his tail and Jade followed, leaving through the doors of the castle. She ran off with Merthin in front of her and turned around to see that the fire had spread from the dungeons to the main floor. Flames and smoke erupted through the windows as glasses and other belongings broke from inside.

"Do not lose focus! We must retrieve the second Portkey!" Merthin said. Jade turned back, running into the forest with Merthin while holding on to the Portkey at the same time.

"How in the world do we get the Portkey off of her head?" Jade asked.

"How hard is it to defeat a Squib?" Merthin asked.

"Er…" Jade said.

After a few minutes of running, Merthin slowed down and crept towards a small mound behind the army of knights. They crouched down, listening to the voices of the Queen and Dumbledore.

"Your Highness, may I introduce myself?" Dumbledore asked politely. Everyone looked towards Dumbledore, wondering if he was usually this calm under circumstances like these. The Queen seemed to wonder herself and raised an eyebrow, studying him thoroughly.

"Speak." She said. Dumbledore gave a small bow and placed a hand over his heart.

"I am Albus Dumbledore…"

"This is truly fascinating." Merthin said, morphing into human form.

"We need to wait until we leave…I'm really glad that we pulled through this. What counts now is what fate has written down for us." Jade said, seeing Annabelle's daughter cry in her arms. Merthin gave Jade a morose look. Jade looked back at him, knowing he was sorry for what he had done earlier.

"You tried to save our lives Merthin. Please don't be sorry for that. You did what was best for us and I couldn't be any more thankful for it. I'm sure Draco feels the same way but he takes longer than the average human processes." Jade said.

Merthin gave a small smile and looked back at Jade and Merthin disappearing off into the cottage.


	52. Castile Of Never Return

"I want to see the Philosopher's stone so I know you aren't wasting my time Dumbledore." The Queen said.

"Of course." Dumbledore said with a nod. He turned towards Nicolas who looked offended. There was no way he would give the stone to a Queen like that.

"It must be around here somewhere." Nicolas said, patting his robes.

Jade saw Dumbledore lift his head a fraction of an inch, meeting her eyes as everyone was watching Nicolas Flamel. Jade stood up from her place and stuck out her hands. She concentrated deeply at the crown, feeling the same charge of energy in her body centering itself.

'_Accio Portkey_.' Jade thought fiercely. The crown on the Queen's head gave a small tremor and in that same second, it flew out of her head, shooting towards Jade's hands. Jade caught the Portkey with her sling, hearing the knights shouting amongst themselves.

"How the hell did she get up there?" Draco asked. The door in the cottage opened and Helena looked out to see everyone staring at Jade and Merthin.

"Shedding blood in Castile isn't necessary and I would greatly appreciate if you comply." Jade said. The Queen's face pinched with fury as she stared at Jade. Her usually red rimmed eyes were enlarged, looking quite intimidating to Jade.

"You _will_ return my crown." The Queen hissed.

"Or _what_?" Jade countered.

An arrow shot from one of the knights and struck Jade's right arm. Jade dropped one of the Portkeys and clutched her arm as the Portkey rolled off the mound, towards the army.

"_NO_!" Merthin roared, jumping for it.

There was a war cry from the Queen's men and they charged towards Jade who fell on her knees, shocked that there was a full sized arrow halfway between her arm.

"_DON'T FUCKING TOUCH HER_!" Draco roared.

He handed Helena his son and ran toward a knight before Dumbledore or any one of them could get a hold of him. The knight drew out his sword and fleered at Draco who was coming towards him; weaponless. The knight swung and Draco ducked, quickly retrieving the dagger that the knights would place in case they had lost their sword in a battle. Without skipping a moment, Draco thrust the dagger into the knight's eye, causing him to drop his sword, shield and fall onto the ground screaming. Draco picked up the sword and shield and ran towards the knights that were headed towards Jade. Snape, Moody and Lupin ran behind Draco, taking the knights down as Nicolas and Dumbledore detained the Queen, Silvia and her daughters. Tonks ran Helena into the cottage and locked them in as some arrows flew their way.

"You need to keep the children safe. I'll be outside." Tonks said to Helena who nodded quickly. Tonks left and Helena turned towards Jenita, her brother and Annabelle's daughter. She looked up at Annabelle who lifted up her hand to touch hers. The look on her face told her everything that needed to be said. In a mere matter of moments Annabelle would be leaving to find Peter. Annabelle placed her mother's hand over the left side of her chest and cried along with her mother who buried her head in her daughter's lap.

"Forgive me my daughter…I could not save you." Helena cried. Annabelle shook her head softly and stroked her mother's hair. Annabelle looked towards her daughter and smiled. She looked towards Jenita and a well dressed boy who strikingly resembled Draco. Annabelle shook her mother's shoulder and pointed at the three month old boy who sat, looking around the cottage with his large grey eyes.

"Draco and Jade's child. They both had a son and daughter." Helena said seeing Annabelle smile. A tear leaked out from the corner of Annabelle's eye as she observed the three children. Helena saw her daughter's smile vanish as death seized her in her last moments. Annabelle shuddered, lifting her chest and fell back. The grip on her mother's hand softened but her eyes stood open, motionless and lifeless. Helena softly brushed Annabelle's eyelids down, leaving her to sleep in eternal peace.

Merthin jumped forward to catch the Portkey as a group of knights charged towards him to snatch it from him. Instead they scoured back as he transformed into a giant black panther, snarling, as if to challenge them to take the Portkey from him.

"It's an animal! Shoot an arrow through its head!" one of the knights said.

Merthin roared and leapt into the air, taking on as many knights as he had to, crushing their heads with one snap of his jaw. Draco fought alongside him, Moody, Lupin and Snape. Dumbledore swept his arms towards the trees who had become their own beings. Their branches twisted back and forth like human arms but stood in their places because of the roots that had deeply embedded them to the ground.

"My friends, you have been Merthin's eyes and ears for nearly a hundred years. Now you have the choice to be his legion to defeat his enemies!" Dumbledore said. One of the trees swung their branch, knocking a knight off of his horse.

"An honor to have met you again Dumbledore." One of the trees rumbled. Dumbledore gave a small smile and nod and looked at Nicolas who stared wide eyed.

"Exactly how big of an impression did you and Gellart make in Castile?" Nicolas demanded.

Tonks scrambled towards Jade after getting through large men swinging swords wildly at her.

"Jade! It's me, Tonks!" Tonks said, falling towards Jade. "How's your arm?" Tonks asked, gently taking Jade's arm.

"Amazing…I could die." Jade said, withering in pain. Tonks winced and pulled out her arm.

"If I try to take the arrow out, it could do a lot of potential damage. I'm just going to snip off the ends here." Tonks said taking out her wand.

After reciting an incantation, the two ends of the arrow were cut off clean but the wooden body still had been sticking through her arm.

"Feels a tad bit better." Jade said seeing Tonks nod and chuckle along with her.

Jade smelled burning wood. She looked towards the direction where the castle had been going up in flames but another twisted and black wisps of smoke caught her eye. She looked down to the ground realizing in horror that the cottage that Robert had built for them where Helena, Annabelle, Annabelle's daughter and Jade and Draco's two children were in had been engulfed in flames. Jade screamed from the top of her lungs and pushed herself to her feet, trying to run away from Tonks who tried to hold her back.

"My babies are in there! Annabelle and Helena are in there! Someone save them!" Jade screamed. Draco turned around to see Jade streaking across, running towards the burning cottage. His heart dropped knowing that his son and daughter were in the cottage as well. Draco dropped his sword and ran towards the cottage to help Jade save his children but it was too late. The roof of the cottage collapsed in and the walls flapped in, burning wildly. Draco grabbed Jade and pulled her away from the cottage that collapsed, hearing her grab him and scream.

"My babies are in there! My entire family is in there!" Jade bawled. Draco swallowed and held on to her tightly, feeling himself reduce to tears. His children were dead by now and they couldn't do anything to save them. He watched what was left of the cottage get incinerated.

"I can't do this anymore. Not anymore…I've given up." Jade surrendered, slumping to the floor. She put her face over her hands and rocked back and forth wailing to herself. The Queen smirked, looking down to Jade from where she was held by the tree.

"This is what it feels like when everything you had is taken away from you. How does it feel to live with that pain?" the Queen asked. Jade instantly stopped and slowly looked up at the Queen. Everyone watched as Jade stared dumbly at the Queen. She slowly rose to her feet and walked up towards the Queen, analyzing her face. In an instant, Jade grabbed the Queen's collar and shoved her further into the tree.

"The big difference between you and me is _value_. As a human, I am capable of loving my family where you attained it out of greed, jealousy and envy. You couldn't give a shit about your parents and went out of your way to _murder_ them." Jade hissed, seeing the Queen start to shake.

"You can't stand to see anyone happy because the man you loved never loved you back. And don't you fucking dare tell me how it feels to live when everything is taken away from you Castile. Your child died in your womb…before you gave birth and got to know him or her. I gave birth to _two_ children, one of them whom you stole from me and the other I raised for three months only to be burned down in a senseless fire." Jade choked out. She released her grip on Castile and walked behind, curling her hands to a fist.

"You probably don't even know what it's like to have a sister…or a niece that you'd like to raise as your own child. So listen up you spoiled rotten and twisted bitch; there's more to pain than you can ever imagine and when you get to my level, that'll be the day I'd roll over and die." Jade said. Jade went to walk off but a distant cry stopped her dead in her tracks. Draco curled his hand around her good hand, looking off to their two children crying with Annabelle's daughter, wrapped tightly in a blanket, placed far away from the cottage between two large tree stumps.

Jade felt relief washing her continuously inside of her. It had been the most euphoric feeling in her life, to know that her children were safe. She ran to her kids with Draco behind her and wrapped an arm around her daughter who cried and waved her arms towards Jade to pick her up. Before Jade could touch her, there was a deep rumble in the forest. She looked up at Draco who mirrored the same curious expression.

"What on earth is that?" Nicolas asked, looking around. The Queen laughed at them from the grasp of the trees.

"Who did you send to help you kill us?" Draco asked, standing up. The Queen gave him a hard stare.

"You will see." She said.

"No they will not." Merthin said, nudging the Portkey towards Dumbledore. "They will not stay to be killed…but you will Castile." Merthin said.

The distant cries of horses and the allies of Castile were heard coming closer.

"Nymphadora, Severus, Alastor and Remus please take a Portkey. Nicolas, Jade, Mr. Malfoy and I will take the second." Dumbledore informed, handing one of the Portkeys to Snape.

"I'll take Annabelle's daughter." Tonks said. Dumbledore nodded and looked at Draco who scooped both of his children up.

"Mr. Malfoy I advise you not to hold any of your children while taking the Portkey back." Dumbledore said. Draco nodded, knowing that if he were to fall flat on his face, he was going to risk his child's life. Draco handed Lupin his son and Dumbledore his daughter.

"No, but Merthin…what about Merthin? What Portkey should he take?" Jade asked looking at Merthin who gave her a sad smile.

"My dear…" he said, morphing back into a human.

"I shall not leave from here." He said softly. Jade shook her head and grabbed his arm.

"I'm not leaving you in a place like this with _her_. Merthin please be reasonable and listen to me! My place doesn't have-"

"This is where I belong. This is where I come from. You do not realize how much you have given me and how you have opened up my eyes. But I need to be here Jade. I need to give my family justice for her acts over the last two hundred years. Please Jade." He said. Jade cried as he wrapped an arm around her and kissed her head.

"Live your life well and safe. Raise your children to be good and kind hearted like you are and never let anyone treat you the way you have been treated here. Always know that I will love you and remember you for who you are. Remember that Annabelle, Helena and Robert have loved you too and enjoy your happiness and cry for your sadness…so always give a reason for them and I, to smile and never a reason to cry. Do you understand my love?" he asked seeing Jade nod. Merthin nodded and kissed her head for the last time.

"Go now." He said, handing her to Draco who took her waist. Knights on their war horses leapt from the trees, brandishing their swords and roaring as they charged towards Jade and the others.

"Grab your Portkey _now_!" Dumbledore bellowed. Jade grabbed the Portkey and tightened her grip on Draco as she felt getting sucked into the portal. She turned her head to take a final glimpse of Merthin who had already transformed into the Black Panther. His gaze was fixed on the Queen as he leapt in the air and took her down with the clamp of his mouth.


	53. The Old New World

**Hey everyone! I'm back after who knows how long! Did you really think I would leave this story unfinished? For the past couple of weeks I've been insanely busy in school and there had been a few snowstorms up here that blew out my internet. Have no fear ladies and gentlemen, for Verizon was here a couple of days ago to patch things up! Now I can finish this entire story today without wasting anyone elses time! All right, on with the show and sorry again!**

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Jade's stomach fell as she felt herself being lifted and spun back to another dimension. She felt herself fall into soft grass face first again.

"Are you all right?" Draco asked, helping her up.

"My arm is killing me." Jade winced, holding onto her right arm.

"We need to apparate back to London. After that, we'll shift her to St. Mungos and give the babies and Mr. Malfoy a lengthy checkup." Nicolas said, poking Jenita's cheek. Jenita was wide eyed and drooling from the breathless trip from Castile.

"Here, here. We're almost on our way." Nicolas said. They all had apparated off to St. Mungos where Jade, Draco, their children and Annabelle's daughter were immediately taken under the hospital's care. Jade's wound was mended and she took a few potions to heal. A few nurses came in and gave her a bath and washed out her hair that hadn't been properly washed with shampoo and conditioner for nearly two years.

"Have you experienced normal sleeping patterns for the past two years?" a Healer asked Jade who shook her head.

"No to tell you the truth, I haven't. Not even because of hard beds or stone floors…I just think and think until its morning." Jade said. The Healer checked Jade's eyes by pointing a lit wand towards her eyes.

"And what about the times you do manage to sleep?" she asked.

"I have nightmares." Jade said seeing the Healer nod and write something down.

"I will prescribe a dreamless sleeping potion for you tonight and after that, we'll see. How does that sound?" the Healer asked.

"Sounds like the best thing I've heard in two years." Jade said seeing the Healer smile. A nurse poured the potion and handed it to Jade who took it hastily. A night with peaceful and dreamless sleep. There wasn't going to be nightmares about Robert tonight or the Queen coming to kill her and the ones she loved. Queen Castile was no more.

Jade woke up in the morning expecting Helena to tell her that she had made breakfast and wanted her to wake Merthin and Annabelle up. The grim realization that they weren't going to come back sent pangs of guilt and pain through her chest. Helena ended up killing herself with her daughter in a burning cottage and left Annabelle's daughter to Jade. Jade knew that if Annabelle's daughter had died along with them, she would have been completely immobilized. She now had a part of Annabelle and Helena and already made up her mind to raise her like one of her own kids. There was a soft knock on the door and Jade looked up to see Draco standing there, looking cleaned and shaved.

"Can I come in?" he asked seeing Jade nod. He slowly walked in and took a seat on the foot of her bed. "How was your sleep?" he asked.

"I slept well…better than usual." Jade said. Her emotions balled up in her throat and she looked away from him, towards the window.

"I know what you're going through." He said. Jade shook her head and closed her eyes tightly. Draco placed a hand on hers and sat there as she cried.

"It must be hard and truthfully speaking, I can't imagine it. The only people I've been close to in Castile were Merthin, you and our babies. I grieve with you for Merthin but I'm thankful for our children Jade. I know it's something we never discussed about when you had gotten pregnant and I know that I haven't been there for the both of them since they were born but I want to be as involved as I possibly can be in their lives now." He said. Jade wiped her face with the back of her hand and looked at Draco who bowed his head, trying to rein his emotions.

"Please let me be a part of their lives Jade. It's the only thing I'll ever ask from you. I want to raise them with you and move on from whatever we've gone through in Castile." He said. He looked at Jade who stared back at him.

"I'm adopting Annabelle's daughter." She said. Draco smiled softly and looked down at her hand.

"I knew you would." He said.

"If we were to raise our children together, would you treat her the same way we treat ours?" Jade asked.

"I know how much Annabelle meant to you…I know how much her daughter means to you and I want you to know that I'll love her just as much as I would to my own. I've been selfish and only thought about you and I and never included Annabelle. I always nagged about not caring about Annabelle and I want to say sorry for that. I didn't know how much you loved her." He said. A few tears quickly spilled from Jade's eyes and she covered her mouth from a sob.

"Just know that you're not the only one. I'm here for you whether you like it or not, do you understand?" he asked. There was a small knock on the door and a nurse peered in and smiled at Jade and Draco.

"Good Morning. Would Mummy and Daddy like to see their children?" a nurse asked. Jade straightened in her seat as Draco permitted her to come in.

"How are you feeling Mum?" another nurse asked, checking Jade's arm.

"I'm doing well; I just needed to see my kids; that's all." Jade said. Both Draco and Jade noticed that the nurses had bought in Jenita and their son but not Annabelle's daughter.

"Where's our third child?" Draco asked.

"She needs to be under 48 hour observation. She's a newborn, born under unusual conditions so we are taking extra precautions." She said.

"How is she doing?" Jade asked, taking her son in her arms. The nurse smiled at her and nodded.

"Tremendously well. There doesn't seem to be a problem." She said.

"Let's hope not." Draco said. The nurses left the room, leaving Draco and Jade alone with their two children. Jade looked her son over, touching his face as he studied hers.

"What do we name him?" Jade asked softly. Draco got up and took a seat next to Jade while holding Jenita in his arms. He took a look at both of his children for the first time, feeling overwhelmed by the emotions catching up to him since Castile.

"Castile named him Henry…I don't think you'd like that name." Draco said quickly. Jade raised her eyebrow at him and looked back at her two children.

"What about Merthin?" she asked.

"Merthin would have been honored. What about our youngest one? What should we name her?" Draco asked.

"What do _you_ want to name her?" Jade asked. Draco turned to Jade, looking thoughtful.

"I would love to call her Annabelle." He said. There was another knock on the door and Draco and Jade looked up to see that a nurse stood by the doorway.

"Mr. Malfoy, your parents are here to see you." she said. The mention of his parents created strange emotions in him. He was excited to see them and excited to show them his children but at the same time dreaded it. His father never sought him out to be a man and never thought Draco was capable of upholding any kind of family responsibility. Draco's mother babied him from the day he was born and too thought Draco was incapable of keeping any responsibility but showed it differently than her husband did. Draco stood up and looked at Jade who had her eyes towards the door, as if expecting one of his parents to swish in and perform the killing curse on her.

"All right Miss Harper, we need to take the children away for feeding and administer the rest of the potion for you to heal." The nurse said.

"I'll be right back." Draco said to Jade.

"Take your time." Jade said. Draco left the room and walked out to see his mother and father sitting on the chairs that were outside the room.

"Mother. Father." Draco said. Lucius snapped his head up stood up with his wife. They both looked down to the baby that Draco was holding.

"My son-" Narcissa started to say.

"How on earth could you have a child with her?" Lucius asked venomously. Lucius's words bounced off of Draco who hardened his face.

"Really father? Is that what you have to say to me after two years?" Draco asked.

"You had a child with a _Mudblood_." His father continued. Draco stepped close to square off with this father.

"She's the mother of my children; your grandchildren. If you don't like it, I don't need you. I've been through hell for the past two years…something unimaginable that no one except for Dumbledore and Grindelwald to have survived. I've seen and dealt with a lot of things for the past couple of months father and frankly I don't need you to breath down my fucking neck and try to tell me what kind of blood runs through her and my children's veins." Draco spat. Jenita cried in his arms and he looked down to see her trying to wriggle her arms out. Narcissa looked down at Jenita with tears in her eyes as Lucius stared with her.

"And another thing," Draco said before leaving. "Jade and I are raising our babies together. So I guess your Manor will just only hold the two of you after all." He said.


	54. Narcissa Visits

**One month later**

Jade stood in the kitchen of her new home, chewing on an apple and looking around her new painted walls. She heard Draco dragging furniture from the front door into the living room.

"Do you need any help?" Jade asked from the kitchen.

"Absolutely not. I can do this by myself…I just…need to…fuck!" Draco said. Jade shook her head and walked out of the kitchen to see Draco handling a sofa by himself. She grabbed the other end and steadied the sofa, pulling it in with him.

"What are you doing? I told you I can do this by myself!" he said.

"I know it hurts your ego Malfoy but I just want to speed up the process." Jade said. They settled the sofa in the living room and pushed it against the wall. Draco let out a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat behind his neck.

"That's the last of all our furniture, thank Merlin. It's disgustingly hot outside." He said, taking a seat on the arm of the sofa.

"I made really cold lemonade while you were putting the furniture in so if you want, you can help yourself. I have to get the bottles ready for the kids so they can finally take a nap." Jade said with a yawn. Draco grinned and stood up. He walked over to Jade and put an arm around her as they walked towards the kitchen.

"You might as well join them. You look like you could use a nap too." He said.

"I might as well. They won't let us sleep when they're awake, we might as well sleep when they are." Jade said, filling Draco's glass with lemonade and handing it to him.

"Together?" he joked. Jade froze, seeing him smile and run a hand through his hair nervously.

"Sorry…bad joke." He said.

"You know that wasn't funny." Jade said tersely. She took the warm bottles from the counter and left Draco in the kitchen.

"Yeah I know." Draco said to himself, while his hands were placed on the counter and his head hung over his drink.

Jade held Jenita, Merthin and Annabelle close, holding the bottles in their mouth. They sucked hungrily as their nostrils flared and their eyebrows knitted in concentration. As she looked at her children who resembled more of Draco than her, she couldn't help but think of their father. Ever since they had came back from Castile, Jade and Draco maintained a mutual friendliness and a relationship that only concerned their children. Usually Draco would hug her or kiss her on the cheek or her forehead from time to time but he never put her in an uncomfortable position where she had to choose between him or the memory of Robert. The door opened and Jade looked up to see Draco walk in. Merthin turned his head towards Draco and kicked rapidly and knocked the bottle off of his mouth. Draco chuckled and scooped Merthin off as he squealed in delight.

"Are you happy to see me little man?" Draco asked Merthin who started laughing. Draco laughed and held Merthin close. He looked over to Jade who smiled softly, watching both father and son laughing to themselves.

"All right, let's put you down to sleep so Mum can get some rest as well." Draco said. He placed Merthin on the bed and rubbed his stomach lightly for him to fall asleep. Jade watched Annabelle and Jenita fall fast asleep on the bed and looked at Draco who doted over his three children.

"I don't think I'll ever get over how remarkable they are." Draco said softly, kissing their hands. Jade smiled and lied back to rest.

"You and I both." Jade said.

"I'll let you go to sleep then." Draco said getting up. Jade nodded as he walked over to the door. "And I really do apologize for the comment I made a while back. Not only do I do stupid things, I say them as well." He said. Before Jade could say anything, Draco left, closing the door behind him.

It made her feel guilty for dangling Draco that way. She shouldn't have taken things so seriously but ever since Castile, what was left of her sense of humor had all vaporized quickly. Her eyes drooped as the final thoughts of Draco stuck to her mind.

_The afternoon sun glinted through the thin forest trees. Jade looked down from the trees towards the cottage that Robert had made for them before they were supposed to be married. She saw Annabelle and Helena sitting with two long blonde haired girls who were around five years old. Annabelle and Helena were braiding their hairs, smiling and giggling amongst themselves. A handsome little boy with blonde hair around the same age the girls were, walked out of the bushes had a dead gray rabbit with Merthin behind him who laughed uproariously and clapped his back. _

_"Come have a walk with me my darling." A gentle voice said. _

_Jade turned around to see Robert in a crème colored tunic and dark brown felt pants. He smiled pleasantly at Jade, his face glowing and his bronze hair at its natural tousled state. She felt herself getting extremely sentimental and choked up to see a man whom she loved and was set out to spend the rest of her life with in front of her after what seemed like years. He held a hand out and Jade slowly took it. They quietly walked down a clean forest path, away from the cottage, the kids, Annabelle, Helena and Merthin. _

_"I love you Robert." Jade managed to choke out. _

_"He loves you too." Robert replied. Jade gave him a blank look, seeing the corner of his eyes crinkle. "He loved you enough to want you to be happy with me. If I were alive I would say I owe him my life." Robert said. He let Jade's hand go and pointed. Jade looked past at his hand, towards a river where Draco stood, watching them and waiting patiently. _

_"Take my hand darling. I will help you cross." Robert said. _

_

* * *

  
_

Draco sat back in his sofa, rubbing his face. Hours of studying for his Auror exam left him exhausted and tonight wasn't going to be helpful at all. All three of his kids would wake him up in the middle of the night at various times and would leave him crawling for coffee and sleep in the morning. He rested himself on the sofa and closed his eyes. Before he could fully relax or even take a nap, the doorbell rang. He swore under his breath and got up, walking towards the door to answer it.

"I swear if it's another prat whose up to no good, I'll-" Draco stopped, opening the door to Narcissa. "Mother?" Draco asked. Narcissa smiled, holding a large bag of presents.

"Surprise! May I come in?" she asked.

"What are you doing here? I thought you hated me and the rest of my family." Draco said. Narcissa's features softened as her eyes filled with tears.

"Your father never meant what he said that day in the hospital. He wants to see you just as much as I did but I couldn't help it. It will take your father longer to realize that he has three beautiful grandchildren and appreciate the fact that his only son is alive and well. You matter more than anything to us Draco and that is a fact at the end of the day. Now, if you want me to walk away and never see you or your family again, you have the right to say it." Narcissa said. Draco sighed and wrapped his arms around his mother, hugging her tightly.

"That's the second time I thought I'd never see you again." Draco said. He pulled his mother in and shut the door behind him. "Jade and the kids are taking a nap but they should be waking up soon." Draco said as Narcissa took a seat and looked around his living room.

"Let them sleep." Narcissa said waving her hand. "I wanted to speak to you as it is. Where has my son been for the last two years?" Narcissa asked.

"I rather you not know mother." Draco sighed.

"I do Draco. I especially want to hear why you did this in the first place. How on earth you managed to have three children with a woman you wanted to send off in a world where she would have a minimal chance to survive." Narcissa said.

"You have no idea how many times I asked myself the same question while I was there." Draco said.

"Then?" Narcissa asked.

Draco explained the entire story to Narcissa from the time they were transported until the time they were saved by Dumbledore. Narcissa quietly listened to Draco explaining his marriage to the Queen to save Jade and how Jade found solace in the castle's builder, Robert.

"That's the entire story. We both came out so broken in so many ways because of that place, despite the children we have. I'm just really glad that the kids came out from that hellhole before they grew up to understand how bad it was." Draco said. Narcissa wiped the tears from her cheeks and the two heard one of the babies from the bedroom crying.

"Looks like they're up from their nap. I hope you're ready to meet your grandchildren." Draco said hearing Narcissa giggle. Draco left his mother in the living room and walked down the small halway towards the bedroom. He gently pushed the light wooden door to see Jade still sleeping with their three kids who were wide awake. Merthin had crawled against Jade, gnawing on her arm as his large grey eyes look innocently up at Draco.

"You're getting your slobber all over Mum, Merthin." Draco said, lifting Merthin up. Jenita whimpered and frowned as she tried to roll around to get to Draco who scooped her up as well.

"It's okay love, you're going to see your Grandmum." Draco whispered.

"Do you need help?" Narcissa asked from the doorway. Draco turned around and chuckled lightly, handing Jenita to Narcissa.

"An extra pair of hands would be nice." He said. Narcissa also took Merthin from Draco and the twins gave her a strange look, freezing in her arms. Draco took Annabelle who was gurgling next to Jade and left the bedroom with his mother. Narcissa sat down on the sofa and looked up to Draco who held Annabelle close to his chest. He placed a small kiss on her forehead and sat next to his mother, adoring over the babies.

Jade shook awake to see that the entire room was dark. She looked towards the windows to see that it was already night outside. Faint voices pulled her awake and she looked around to see that Merthin, Annabelle and Jenita were gone, accompanying the voices. She slowly got up from the bed as the dream stood printed fresh in her mind. Having mixed feelings, Jade walked over to the door and pulled it open. She walked into the hallway, hearing Narcissa's voice from the living room.

"Jenita and Merthin are yours but Annabelle is…Belle's." Narcissa said.

"And it doesn't make a damn difference for me. Jade loved Belle from the day we met her. Even when we knew that the Queen's men were after us, Jade never wanted to leave Belle behind. And neither did Belle, who could have given up her own life to save Jade." Draco said.

The searing images of Annabelle smiling in Jade's mind built up a sob in her throat that she immediately repressed.

"I'm proud of you both for being this responsible and compassionate to give Annabelle a home." Narcissa said. Draco smiled and looked down to Annabelle who curiously stared at him. "So tell me, when will you two be marrying?" Narcissa asked. Draco snapped his head up to his mother who looked pleasantly eager for his reply.

"Mother…what? Why?" Draco asked.

"You both have children, you both love each other-"

"She doesn't love me." Draco cut in. Narcissa gaped at Draco and recovered quickly by shaking her head.

"Nonsense. She's had your children, I'm sure she loves you one way or another. You're the father of her children for goodness sakes!" Narcissa said.

"We were both young and extremely stupid and she didn't have Jenita and Merthin because she loved me, she had no choice." Draco said.

"Rubbish, she could have had an abortion if she hated you." Narcissa said.

"Yes, because there was a free clinic in the 1300's. Listen mother, the fact that she had my children proves nothing. She fell in love with another man who she was going to spend the rest of her life with. And I know that she still loves him." Draco said, his voice turning soft. He averted his gaze from his mother and focused on a spot on the floor.

"She was so loud and incredibly annoying; you couldn't even find her off button if your life depended on it. Now she just gets lost in her own thoughts sometimes and I know that she would think about him. If she were thinking about Belle, Merthin or Helena, she would tell me about them but with Robert…her face goes blank but her thoughts are imploded with memories of him." Draco explained. He looked up to his mother's morose face and smiled lightly.

"We sleep separately. She sleeps on the bed and I sleep on the sofa. Whenever our kids would wake up, we would both get up as well, feed them, change them and put them off back to sleep. But that doesn't bother me mother…what bothers me is that when she sleeps, she talks about him. Every night it's been the same name…it's just not mine. Every night I would stay awake on the sofa, listening to her murmuring his name and truthfully speaking, it's like being pushed off a cliff into a pit full of rocks. It kills me every time." Draco said. Narcissa sobbed and Draco immediately put an arm around her, hugging her close.

"Then why must you do this to yourself? If she doesn't love you, that doesn't mean another woman wouldn't either! Come back to the Manor. We'll arrange for the best women in Europe for you to make you your wife. Don't worry about the children, you and Jade can arrange to joint custody and split your time evenly with them." Narcissa said. Draco shook his head.

"You don't understand mother." Draco said.

"Understand what?" Narcissa asked heatedly. "That you'll stay with a woman who won't commit to you? I understand raising your children together but does that mean that you will have to throw away your life as well?"

"I'm not throwing my life away mother. I love my children and I love Jade. She doesn't have to commit to me to make me happy. _I'm _committed to her. I wouldn't even imagine being with another woman, let alone look at them. I went through the two most unbelievable and hardest years of my life and I had Jade to share that experience with. No one has seen me at my worst except for her, not even you mother." Draco said. "And I won't leave her this time. Not even for the world."

Jade stood in shock, gaping at the wall in front of her. She placed her hand over her chest, feeling her heart dance rapidly inside of her. She felt herself crying continuously but she didn't bother to wipe them.

Annabelle softly cried in Draco's arms and he rocked her back and forth as he stood up.

"I need to heat up a bottle of milk for Annabelle, Merthin and Jenita." Draco said, seeing Narcissa nod.

"I have to be home soon, your father is probably back from work." Narcissa said.

Draco nodded and walked out of the living room, into the hallway. He went to walk into the kitchen but stopped when he saw Jade standing in the middle of the hallway, crying and looking like she had come out from a state of wild shock. It didn't take Draco long to realize that she listened to the entire conversation between him and his mother.

"Are you all right?" Draco asked. Jade nodded weakly, seeing Draco stand uncomfortably.

"Draco dear. It's dark outside. I should be-oh hello Jade." Narcissa said.

"H-Hello Mrs. Malfoy." Jade said. Everyone stood around without saying a word, feeling awkward in the silence.

"Hm, well, I'll come another day then and we'll speak." Narcissa said. Merthin and Jenita squirmed in Narcissa's arms and Jade took them from her. Jade and Draco walked Narcissa towards the door.

"Thank you for coming today mother." Draco said. Narcissa smiled and nodded.

"I only wanted to see how you both were. Have a goodnight." She said. After Narcissa left, Draco and Jade went back to feed Jenita, Merthin and Annabelle. Neither of them said a word to each other and even if they wanted to, they were unsure of what to say. When Merthin, Jenita and Annabelle were fully fed, they were sent off to sleep.

"I have a long day tomorrow. I'll see you in the morning?" Draco asked, walking towards the sofa. Jade nodded, not looking at him.

"Good luck tomorrow on your Auror's exam." Jade said.

"Thank you." Draco replied. With that, Draco left Jade in the living room, retiring off to a night's sleep that should have been peaceful.


	55. Emily Door

The next morning, Jade woke up early to make breakfast for Draco who needed to be at the Ministry on time. He kissed Jenita, Merthin and Annabelle goodbye and left the house, giving Jade a small wave. Throughout the rest of the day, Jade spent her time indoors, playing with the babies and cleaning up. In the afternoon, Jade put the babies to sleep and started on a sandwich that she made for herself for lunch.

"Finally, it's only you and me." Jade breathed, sitting down at the dinner table. As soon as she went to reach for her sandwich, the doorbell rang. "I can't believe it." Jade said, checking the time. She walked over to the door and opened it to see Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley standing at her doorsteps, smiling at her.

"Oh…er-hi." Jade said.

"Oh my god Jade!" Hermione said, hugging Jade tightly. Jade wrapped her arms around Hermione, wondering how time had gone by so fast. Each and every single one of them looked slightly different from years that had passed by them. She looked up to see Harry and Ron who looked shocked over her appearance. She was darker and thinner from the last time they had seen her.

"Do you remember us?" Ginny asked.

"Why would I forget? Please come in." Jade said.

"I hope we didn't disturb you." Harry said. Jade shook her head and showed them towards the living room.

"What can I get you all?" Jade asked.

"Jade please sit down. We just wanted to see you, that's all." Hermione said.

"Please sit down and let us talk to you love. Ever since you came back from Castile, we wanted to come and see you but Dumbledore told us to wait until you and Malfoy were settled." Ginny said.

"How are you doing now?" Harry asked.

"I'm pretty tired." Jade nodded. "The babies keep me and Draco up throughout most of the night…even the day but we're doing well." Jade said.

"As soon as you left, Parkinson, Goyle, Crabbe and Zabini were expelled. We didn't know what Dumbledore was going to do after that but two years…" Ron trailed off.

"He was looking for Nicolas Flamel. He had the other Portkey but it took Dumbledore a few months to track him down and a few more months later to find the second Portkey." Jade said. Hermione, Ginny, Ron and Harry gave a very fond look at Jade, making her uncomfortable. "What?" Jade asked.

"To tell you the honest truth, we thought we had lost you." Harry said.

Jade nodded, feeling Ginny and Hermione take her hands. Everyone fell into a small silence, letting Jade recover from the overwhelmed discussion and thoughts of her own experience in Castile. Jade didn't feel like treading down memory lane again, feeling exhausted at the thought of retelling the entire story to everyone. Instead she craved to know something that didn't concern Kings, Queens and the Middle Ages.

"Tell me, what have I missed in the last two years?" Jade asked. She looked up to see them look confused but a small smile brought them back to the conversation.

"Ron and I had gotten married." Hermione said, looking at Ron whose ears turned red. Jade smiled as Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out a green and red envelope.

"Ginny and I wanted to give you this." Harry said, handing it to Jade. Jade took the envelope, seeing her name scripted on the light green envelope with the blood red designs. She pulled out a stiff and heavier looking paper that had the same design and color on the envelope.

"Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter would like to invite you on the first day of their journey forever together…you both are getting married?" Jade asked, looking at Ginny who blushed. Jade let out a small bubble of laughter and automatically wrapped her arms around Ginny, congratulating her.

"I'm honestly so happy…I don't think I've been this happy in months to tell you the truth! A wedding!" Jade said.

"Please come and bring your babies and Malfoy." Ginny said seeing Jade nod.

"I hope Malfoy's changed for the better you know because if he has, we'll be waiting for your wedding invitation one day." Ginny joked. Jade wanted to correct Ginny but the doorbell rang, interrupting her. Jade got up and opened the door to Draco who walked in.

"I think the neighbor's fucking dog took a toilet break on our lawn again. I swear, this is the time when we need real garden gnomes so it could bite the-"

"Harry, Ginny, Hermione and Ron decided to drop in today, say hello." Jade cut in quickly before Draco could finish the sentence. Draco looked over to see the golden trio and Ginny sitting in his living room, trying to smile in a way to greet him. Draco's eyes immediately shot towards Harry, sending him a chilling stare.

"Harry and Ginny are engaged and came to invite us to their wedding." Jade said, hoping that Draco would stop looking at Harry that way. Ron stood up and patted Harry's back.

"Well we came to see how Jade was." Ron said.

"Aw, I thought you all came here for me." Draco said dryly. Harry clenched his jaw but Ginny took a firm grip on his arm and pulled him away.

"Well if you weren't the reason why this all happened in the first place, we would have came to see you too." Harry responded back calmly. He turned around and gave Jade a kiss on the cheek. "We'll see you in a few days." Harry said.

Jade nodded, saying goodbye to Hermione, Ginny and Ron. After they left, Jade turned to Draco who shook his head and left to the bedroom to change. Before she left off into the kitchen, she heard a bark outside and immediately looked out to see the neighbor's dog in their front lawn, finding a place to relieve itself. Draco ran out of the bedroom with his new wand in his hand and charged towards the front door.

"Draco! What are you going to do?" Jade asked, running behind him.

"What does it look like I'm going to do? That dog is going to disappear for good and-"

"Don't you dare harm that poor dog!" Jade said but Draco didn't listen. He ran out of the house and Jade ran after him. The dog looked up to see Draco running towards him.

"Petrificus To-"

Jade stuck out her leg in front of Draco, sending him flying into the ground. Unfortunately, the large pile of dung that the dog had made missed Draco's face and opted to land all over his stomach and arms. Jade stopped and covered her mouth, trying to suppress her laughter but couldn't help herself. She burst, laughing uncontrollably at Draco who rolled on to his back, muttering obscene curse words. He looked up to see her nearly collapsing in laughter and scowled at her, trying to stand up.

"You think this is extremely funny don't you?" he asked, seeing her nod.

"I'd help you up but I don't fancy dung on my clothes so early in the day." Jade said.

"Then perhaps you'll start to get used to it." Draco said, getting up. He slowly walked over to Jade with his arms wide as if he were ready to attack her in a bear hug. Jade slowly took a step back and held her hands out, shaking her head.

"Draco don't you dare come near me with that." Jade said.

"I know you want a hug from me. Come now, don't be shy." Draco said, advancing towards her.

"Draco! I'm serious!" Jade nearly screamed. Draco went to lunge towards Jade but she ended up running away from him, screaming and laughing. She ran to the backyard and grabbed the hosepipe that was lying on their ground. She pointed the nozzle at Draco who stopped.

"Come any closer and you'll get an earful of this." Jade warned.

"Oh because water is less intimidating for a man who was thrown into shit." Draco said sarcastically. He unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged it off, throwing it into the ground.

"You weren't thrown, you fell!" Jade said.

"Because of you!" Draco said, running towards her. Jade sprayed Draco with water, seeing him trying to shield himself with his hands. He shook his hair and looked at Jade who kept trying to move back as she sprayed him with water. Draco grabbed her and pulled her close as she screamed, letting go of the hose. Water sprayed everywhere, getting Jade soaked. She pushed Draco who grinned and turned the hose off.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Jade asked.

"I should ask you the same thing! What were you thinking, throwing me into shit?" Draco asked. Jade giggled at the memory, seeing him grin. She looked down to see that he was only wearing black pants and nothing else. She felt his arm rest behind her waist and her eyes fluttered down as she felt his warm breath on her face. Draco leaned his forehead against hers, softly brushing his lips against hers as if to test her. Jade didn't pause or think for a second before she quickly kissed Draco. The months that she thought that she couldn't feel anything for Draco proved her wrong. The very first time they had kissed, the feelings exploded in her, more potent than the first time. She held on to Draco, hungrily kissing him as he kissed back, just as desperately. It had been the most incredible moment, to kiss him without a shred of guilt or mourning for Robert, but as soon as she started to think of him, her heart died down. She pulled away from the kiss and covered her face from looking at Draco. Instead she felt his hands on her wrists, trying to pry them off of her face.

"I know how you feel Jade but you can't feel this way forever." He said softly. Jade shook her head, pushing herself off of him but Draco insisted.

"I can't do this." Jade said.

"You already did actually." Draco said.

"What the fuck cant you understand about what's going through me Draco?" Jade asked. Draco glared at Jade, feeling himself start to blaze in his own anger.

"How long are you going to do this to me? Do you enjoy torturing me like this? You probably do because then you'll say that when we kissed, that was a mistake. Am I right?" Draco asked.

"Shut up." Jade said.

"Not good enough. Why did you kiss me then?" Draco asked. Jade stood calm, telling herself that she wouldn't let Draco get to her.

"Draco, this will never happen again. I don't know why it happened-"

"Keep lying to yourself and keep telling yourself that Robert's alive and that one day he'll come out of nowhere from a Portkey in heaven somewhere and find you again." Draco mocked.

"Fuck you Malfoy." Jade said. Draco glared as she turned around and walked away into the house.

* * *

"Do you have a dress for the wedding?" Hermione asked the next day. Jade wiped Jenita's mouth and brushed her hair back.

"I don't. The clothes that I left in Hogwarts were returned to me but they don't fit anymore. Besides, I used to live with my stepmother and my two brothers who tried to kill me at every opportunity that came to them so a dress would be out of the question." Jade said. Hermione sighed, not looking surprised Jade's stepmother.

"Speaking of the wicked stepmother, has she tried to see you since you came back?" Hermione asked. Jade shook her head and reached over for a plate of freshly cut fruits.

"I haven't even heard a peep from her…and I love it to tell you the truth. I'd rather keep my children as far away from her as possible." Jade said. Hermione smiled and looked down to Merthin who slapped his hands on the counter.

"Then we need to go shopping!" Hermione said.

"But the kids? I can't take all three of them shopping. It would be disastrous." Jade said.

"That's true. Why don't we wait for Malfoy to come home so he can take care of the kids? We won't take more than two hours." Hermione said.

"That sounds nice. I could do a few hours not looking at Malfoy's face." Jade said. The doorbell rang and Jade turned to the door, giving it a bitter look.

"What did you two fight about?" Hermione asked. Jade shook her head and opened the door for Draco who walked in.

"Hermione and I are planning to go shopping for Harry and Ginny's wedding. Do you mind if I leave the kids with you?" Jade asked. Draco looked her over as he hung his robe on the rack.

"When will you be back?" he asked.

"When I find a dress." Jade replied. He shrugged and walked away from her.

"Have fun then." He said.

After kissing her kids goodbye, Jade left to Hogsmeade with Hermione. They both walked around Hogsmeade, trying on different dresses and talking about Castile. Jade explained most of the stories to Hermione, feeling amused at the mild reactions she received from her.

"Do you like it?" Jade asked. She wore a plum colored silk dress that flowed below her knees. "It's a bit tight." Jade said, tugging at the sides.

"It's not tight at all. It fits you perfectly, look at the way it hugs your waist. No one will believe you if you told them you were a mother of three." Hermione said, seeing Jade blush.

"If you're feeding on nuts, oats, raw vegetables and very low portions of meat for two years I guess it would help lose a few pounds." Jade said.

After purchasing their dresses, the girls returned to their homes. Jade rang the doorbell and waited for Draco to answer it. The door opened and Jade found Lucius Malfoy opening the door with Merthin in his arms and a vomit stain on the front of his robes.

"Miss Harper." Lucius said.

"Mr.…Malfoy." Jade said.

Draco appeared behind Lucius carrying Annabelle and motioned them in. Jade walked in, seeing Narcissa on the living room floor playing with Jenita. She looked up and smiled at Jade who smiled back. What was surprising about seeing Narcissa Malfoy was that the regal air that she traveled with was not taken with her today. She was on her hands and knees with her long blonde hair tied into a messy bun as she made silly faces for her grandchildren who enjoyed watching her as much as Jade did.

"How was your wedding dress shopping?" Narcissa asked. Jade's eyebrows shot up in surprise and Narcissa shook her head wildly.

"No! I meant the dress for the wedding…Ginny and Harry Potter's wedding!" Narcissa said. Jade laughed nervously and lifted her bags.

"I managed to find a really nice dress, thank you." she said.

"Well let me have a look at it!" Narcissa said.

"Oh, sure." Jade said. She walked over to Narcissa and took the dress out of the bag, showing it to her.

"Oh this dress looks beautiful! Look how it would go with your skin!" Narcissa said.

"I know and I bought these shoes to go with the dress. Hermione actually picked them out because I have no taste whatsoever." Jade said as Narcissa gasped and cooed over the shoes.

"I know an amazing place outside of Hogsmeade. You and I should plan an entire day to shop!" Narcissa suggested.

Draco nudged his father and jerked his head towards the two women.

"Nothing like a conversation about shopping to let two women bond." Draco said. Lucius smiled, bouncing Merthin lightly in his arms.

"Narcissa's always had it easy. It's just me who always gets the hardest parts of life." Lucius said.

"She'll forgive you. She forgave me hasn't she?" Draco asked.

Jade slowly started to warm up to Narcissa, loving that her kids had grandparents that loved them just as much as Merthin and Helena did. She watched Lucius playing with Merthin and feeding Annabelle. Sometimes Lucius would show Draco how to hold the baby or little tips and tricks to raising a child. She accepted that people always had room for improvement and had the capability of changing completely, sometimes for the better or for worse. When Lucius and Narcissa had to leave, they promised Jade and Draco that they would visit as frequently as they could and encouraged Jade to come over to their mansion.

"If you both get exhausted with the babies, send us an owl! We'd be more than happy to steal our grandchildren away!" Narcissa said.

"I promise you'll get plenty of chances to steal them away." Jade said. Lucius patted Draco's shoulder and turned to Jade, holding his hand out.

"It's been a pleasure to see you." Lucius said.

"My children and I agree." Jade said, shaking his hand.

"Please come over to the Manor for dinner sometime. Narcissa and I would love to have you over." He said seeing Jade nod. Narcissa and Lucius apparated after saying their goodbyes, leaving Jade and Draco alone in their homes with Merthin, Jenita and Annabelle. Jade left, cleaning up the living room before heading off to bed.

* * *

_Jade sat in the oratory with Merthin as Robert sat across them, carving their picture into a slate. _

_"All of us has died and moved on, why do you still keep your expectations pinned on us?" Merthin asked. Jade was perplexed. Why was Merthin asking her this? _

_"Do not look at him as if you do not understand what he means." Robert said, still carving into the slate. _

_"My expectations? What do I expect from you?" Jade asked. _

_"Your future is with your children and Draco. You do not consider how important Draco is to your life, yet he cherishes you like a vital organ in his body!" Merthin said. _

_"But, Robert-" _

_"I cannot have you go on your entire life mourning for me. Even the heavens don't feel the way it is supposed to because you are unhappy. Annabelle and Helena are quite upset that you are not letting yourself live in peace." Robert said. He looked up at Jade and slowly stood up with the slate in his hand. With a quick flick of his hand, he threw the slate at Jade. It fell in front of her into four pieces. Each piece had a face; little Merthin, little Annabelle, Jenita and Draco. A wrinkled and freckled hand with long white fingers reached out to take one of the pieces. Jade's eyes traveled up the hand to see the Queen, her white hair wild with no eyes but hollow spaces. _

_"Give them back to me!" she shrieked. She wrapped her hands around Jade's neck and squeezed as Jade tried to scream as hard as she could. _

"JADE!" Draco shouted.

Jade's eyes snapped open and she looked at Draco who was hovering over her, holding the sides of her face tightly. He looked concerned and scared out of his mind, leaving Jade to guess that she was the one that scared him from her nightmare.

"What the fuck were you dreaming about?" Draco asked.

"I-I…I saw the Queen." Jade explained meekly. Draco dropped his head and took a breath of relief.

"You scared the morning grogginess out of me. I was in the kitchen, trying to make coffee and I thought someone came in, trying to kill you when you started to scream." He said.

"Did the children wake up?" Jade asked.

"They're in the other room and all of them have been awake since ten minutes ago." Draco said. Jade nodded, still feeling Draco's hands on the sides of her face. He realized that he was still touching her, so he pulled away from her and sat on the edge of the bed.

"How are you feeling now?" Draco asked.

"A little better now that I found out it was a dream." Jade said.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Draco asked gently. She turned to him, thinking it was best not to tell him what Merthin and Robert were trying to tell her.

"It's all right." She said. Draco sighed and stood up.

"Do you want me to make you a cup of coffee then?" he asked.

"Please?" Jade asked as he started to leave.

"Wash up." He said.

After Jade brushed her teeth, she walked into the kitchen, seeing Draco leaning against the counter, reading the newspaper. He saw her walk in and picked up her cup of coffee and handed it to her. Jade thanked him and took a sip, feeling herself unwind from the dream that she had a little while ago. She looked at Draco, seeing him still reading the newspaper. Robert and Merthin were right, no matter how much Jade wanted to ignore it. Draco wasn't going to leave her and Jade wouldn't have realized that unless he was gone with the rest. She remembered how devastated she was when she found out that he married Castile just to spare her life and made Merthin realize the Queen's true identity and protect Jade. Draco had gone through heartbreak and hardships just as she did in Castile.

"Draco." Jade said. Draco quickly looked at Jade. "I'm sorry." She said.

"Oh…it's fine. I didn't mind. As long as you were all right." He said, making her feel worse about herself.

"No, I meant I'm sorry for the other day. Whatever I said that day when we-"

Draco waved her off, feeling embarrassed himself.

"I should apologize myself. I don't know where my brain was when I said what I said about Robert. I thought it over and realized you and my mother were right. I respect what you had with Robert and I wouldn't want to just invade and ruin what you wanted to keep." He said.

Jade went to open her mouth to tell Draco that it wasn't what he thought but he continued.

"So I went to the Ministry and met a really nice woman in the Auror Department. We had lunch and I dropped her home. You'd like her Jade. She's incredible with kids and-"

"That's nice, what's her name?" Jade asked too eagerly. Draco looked down to her cup, seeing her knuckles turning white from grasping her cup too hard.

"Emily Door." Draco said.

"What does she look like?" Jade asked.

Draco smiled, turning around. He placed his cup into the sink and started to wash his hands.

"Blonde hair, blue eyes and tall. So tall, but does it matter what she looks like?" Draco asked.

"Yeah, because it's the inside what counts right?" Jade asked dryly. She pushed her cup away in the counter and walked away from Draco, not realizing that he was smiling.

Throughout the entire day, Jade occupied herself with thoughts of this Emily Door. What exactly was she supposed to look like and why was Draco so taken with her? She sometimes looked over at Draco who looked unusually calm and pleasant, making her miserable and sour. The thought of him with another woman seemed to make Jade extremely uncomfortable. The feeling carried on to the next day, where she started to prepare for Harry and Ginny's wedding. She slipped into her dress and put on makeup for the first time in years. Her hair had been put into great effort for soft big curls, something she hadn't done since Hogwarts. When Jade was done, she grabbed her purse, hoping that Draco would shut a permanent door on Emily for good. She walked out of the bedroom into the living room where Draco tried balancing his three kids on his chest.

"I'm off to Harry and Ginny's wedding." Jade said.

"Great! Have fun." Draco said, not bothering to turn around. Jade frowned and looked at Jenita who giggled, chewing on her own fists as Draco tried to let her walk up and down his chest. Jade walked around the sofa, in front of Draco who paused, looking over Jade.

"Balancing three babies on your chest guarantees one of them falling and breaking their head, guaranteeing your broken head as well." Jade said, taking Jenita off. She placed Jenita on the mat on the ground where she rolled around, lifting her head to watch her parents.

"Let them play for an hour and after that, put them off to sleep. I'll come home as early as I can." Jade said. Draco smiled warmly.

"Have fun, don't worry about coming home early." He said. Jade nodded and he got up, accompanying her to the door.

"Bye." Jade said, seeing him wave. Jade apparated to the Burrow and found the Weasley family and a couple of her Hogwarts classmates and professors. As soon as she was spotted, she was bombarded with questions and praises of her survival in Castile.

"Tonks!" Jade said, seeing Tonks run towards her with her bubble gum pink hair and purple dress.

"Jade! How are you? How are the babies?" she asked.

"We're fine. We finally have a place big enough for the entire family. You should come over and see how they're doing yourself." Jade said, seeing Tonks laugh.

"I will! Let's sit down though or else Molly Weasley is going to fall over and give herself a heart attack. The wedding is just about to start!" Tonks said.

In a few minutes, a few candles hovered over the guests heads and music started playing softly around them. The wedding was intimate as little girls who were suspected to be Veelas, gracefully danced down the aisle, sprinkling rose petals on the guests. Everyone turned around as the bridesmaids walked down the aisle with the groomsmen. Hermione had been paired with Ron, Luna had been paired with Neville, Fleur had been paired with Lupin. When Ginny walked down the aisle, Jade felt herself come to tears. She retracted back the memories of her moping of the idea of Ginny and Harry being together. Comparing the idea from then to now was a distance between a universe. People and their matches were either meant to be or not. There was no use of crying over spilt milk. If things never worked out the way a person expected it to, they would just have to accept it, just the way Jade was going to.

The wedding vows made between Ginny and Harry didn't leave a dry eye between the guests; particularly Molly Weasley who bawled and cried for her youngest daughter marrying the Boy Who Lived. After the wedding, the guests clapped as Ginny and Harry walked down the aisle and were transferred off to the reception area. Jade congratulated the happy couple who were more than ecstatic to see her. She met with Hermione and Ron who took her to their table and ate, drank and celebrated the wedding. Various guests walked over to their table and congratulated Harry and Ginny who introduced them to Jade, Hermione, Ron, Tonks and Lupin. A tall middle aged woman with blonde hair and light blue eyes in a soft blue dress walked over towards Harry and Ginny with her husband.

"Mr. Potter! Congratulations!" the woman said, hugging Harry who hugged her back.

"Thank you Mrs. Door." Harry said. Jade did a double take, wondering if she heard right.

"This is my husband, Michael Door." Mrs. Door said, introducing Harry who shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Door. Meet my wife Ginny, my brother in law Ron Weasley, my sister in law Hermione Weasley, Nyph-"

"Tonks!" Tonks chimed in.

"Tonks, her husband and a man I could call my father, Remus Lupin and Jade Harper, one of my closest friends in Hogwarts. Everyone, this is Emily Door, she works in the Auror Department in the Ministry and her husband Michael Door who also works in the Ministry." Harry said. Emily smiled at everyone but stopped at Jade.

"You were-"

"You guessed correct." Jade said before Emily could finish her sentence.

"Do you know Draco Malfoy?" Jade asked seeing Emily smile.

"Why yes! My husband and I have been training him with a handful of other new Aurors. He's quite fond of you and the children and spoke to us over lunch just the other day!" Emily said. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted off of Jade when she heard Emily explain everything to her.

"Mr. Malfoy is quite an exceptional Auror himself. I see a lot of potential in him. Please tell him to keep up the good work and I will see him on Monday." Mr. Door said, seeing Jade nod.

"I'll pass on the word for you." Jade said, picking up her glass to shoot down the rest of her drink.


	56. Swallowing Rings

The entire house was quiet, which was a rare event when you were raising three kids. Draco surfed through the channels on the television. His attention wasn't on the television, instead had been drifting and thinking about Jade. He heard a distinct _pop_ outside and turned his head, hearing Jade approach the door. He heard her crash into the door and pull herself up to ring the doorbell. Draco swung the door open, seeing Jade lean against the doorframe with her shoes dangling on her fingers.

"You look like you had fun." Draco said, making room for her to walk in. Jade pushed herself off the doorframe and sauntered in.

"Funny story actually." Jade said, tossing her purse on the sofa. "I met Emily Door and her husband today at the wedding. Don't worry; I put in a good word for you." Jade said. Draco raised his eyebrow and crossed his arms. He didn't look too surprised or disturbed by what she told him.

"I'm glad you did." He said.

"You like your women old don't you?" Jade asked. Draco smiled, starting to walk away from her.

"I don't actually. You of all people know what I prefer but I can't help it if older women find me attractive." He said.

"Draco I'm in love with you." Jade sputtered. Draco turned around, the traces of his smile gone. Jade nodded, her chin trembling. "You've been nothing but good to me and our children. You could have taken them away from me, you could have ignored Annabelle or not have even taken a part in their lives at all but you stood back with me. I didn't expect this much from you, honestly...but then I realized I didn't even know you. Sure you were a self preserved, horny, evil little man..." Jade said, seeing his face break into a smile. "But you took care of me in Castile. You made sure I was safe from drunks, if I ate, blah blah blah." Jade droned. Draco took her shoes and wrapped his hand arm around her arm.

"You need to change, I'll make coffee for you." Draco said going to pull her but Jade turned him around and pushed him against the wall.

"You don't understand! I'm trying to tell you my feeeelings!" she squeaked. He wasn't answering or moving her but stood there, patiently waiting. "I cant lose you again Draco." She softly kissed his lips, feeling his lips conform against her slightly. He changed his mind and broke off the kiss by moving his head.

"You're drunk Jade. You're going to sober up in a few hours and beat me to death for kissing you again." He said. Jade nuzzled her nose against the soft and smooth part of his neck and placed a small kiss on it.

"One, I'm tipsy, not drunk and two…I love you, I know I do." Jade said. She looked into his eyes, pulling at his shirt. "I lost everyone I ever had but this time I won't lose you Draco. You and the kids are all I have and there's no one else who could match up or understand what I've been through except for you." Jade said.

"And Robert?" Draco asked. Jade smiled softly, running her hands up Draco's chest.

"He wanted me to move on and be happy." Jade said.

"Are you happy now?" he asked.

"With you? Always." Jade said. Draco immediately lowered his head and kissed Jade. He picked her up and carried her off into the bedroom, shutting the door behind him.

Jade woke up in the morning, hearing one of her kids crying. She opened one of her eyes to see that she was breathing against Draco's shoulder. She felt his arms around her, possibly still asleep.

"You know, it's nice to wake up in the morning with you still in my arms; not kidnapped and thrown into prison by a crazy old Queen." Draco said. Jade laughed and kissed alongside Draco's shoulder, up to his face. Annabelle cried again and Jade sighed, seeing Draco smile.

"I wish the kids could sleep in late though." Jade said. She got up, slipping into one of Draco's old t-shirts.

"Maybe we can send the kids off to mother and father and take a weekend off together." Draco said, getting out of the bed.

"We can use a weekend off together." Jade said. Draco wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her neck. He looked over Jade's shoulder and down at Annabelle who quieted as Jade rubbed her stomach. Jade and Draco looked over to Merthin and Annabelle who were already awake and rolling around in their cribs.

"Time to get busy." Jade said.

Jade started on breakfast for herself and Draco after they were finished feeding Merthin, Annabelle and Jenita. As soon as she started on coffee, she heard Draco frantically shouting in the living room. Jade dropped her things and ran out of the kitchen, into the living room where Draco hovered over Merthin, trying to squeeze his mouth open.

"What happened? Did he swallow something?" Jade asked.

"He swallowed the ring! I set it aside for a second and the next thing you know, he puts it in his mouth and now he won't give it back!" Draco yelled.

"Ring? What ring? You don't wear any rings!" Jade said, rushing over towards them.

"Not my ring! Your ring! Your engagement ring!" Draco said.

"What?!" Jade screeched.

Draco flipped Merthin over and Jade stuck her finger in Merthin's mouth, taking the ring out. Merthin immediately went into a hysterical shriek, crying and frightened over the experience. Jade scooped him up and held him close to her chest, looking at Draco as if he were crazy.

"Why couldn't you put the ring in a box?" Jade asked. Draco wiped the ring with his shirt, scowling.

"I was going to propose to you just now. I turn my back for one second to get Merthin's blanket and the bloody ring is in his mouth." Draco said.

"I would be really happy by now but Merthin would have been killed or seriously hurt." Jade said, patting Merthin's back.

"I didn't try to kill him. I only wanted to ask you to marry me." He said. Jade softened, seeing Draco turn red in embarrassment. He sat back, against the couch with the ring in his hand.

"Shit…I fucked everything up." He said. Jade moved close to Draco and kissed his cheek.

"No you didn't. Ask me now." Jade said. Draco turned his head towards her, giving her an odd look.

"But-"

"Just ask me Draco. Don't ask any other question except that, please." Jade said. Draco chuckled and turned himself to her.

"Well then…will you marry me?" he asked, holding up the ring. Jade smiled brightly, holding out her left hand.

"As long as you never let any of our children accidentally swallow another ring." She said.

"Trust me love, I think once will just do." he said as he slipped the ring in. He leaned forward and kissed her briefly. He looked over to Merthin and kissed his temple, wiping his chubby wet cheeks.

"I'm sorry for almost letting you swallow that ring." Draco said softly. Merthin groaned, still looking cautious of Draco.

"How did you get a ring so fast?" Jade asked, looking over the ring. It was a diamond and silver studded ring with a round and generous diamond in the middle.

"It's a family ring. The Malfoy men inherit it and propose to their wives with this ring. Ever since I came back from Castile, I decided that as soon as you tell me you love me, I'll ask you to marry me. I didn't have a single doubt or question in my mind when I wanted to make you my wife, so my mother held on to the ring and told me that when I was ready, I'd give her an owl and she'd send it to me right away." Draco said.


	57. The End: The Kettle

**Finally! This is the end of 'Portkey Of Castile'! I had a lot of difficulty with this one but got to manage it out nevertheless! As always I'd love to thank all the readers and my reviewers. A special thanks to Q, she's always reviewing and is basically one of my many motivators to keep the story going! Thank you to everyone else, I really appreciate your feedback and thoughts on not just this story, on others as well. If I failed to reply to anyone's message, I deeeeeply apologize because school is literally draining me from my social life! I hope you guys liked this story, I really did and had a lot of fun writing it! Let me know what you guys think! On another note, my other story is in the works but I put it on pause because of school. Once spring break hits or this semester ends, I will be back, writing in full force and updating by this summer!!! I just need to utilize this time to think of new ideas and get charged up! Anyways enough blah blahing and on with the good stuff!**

**And now, the final chapter to 'The Portkey of Castile'**

* * *

It hadn't been long since Draco and Jade married. It was a very small and close wedding, inviting family and close friends in the lavish garden of the Malfoy Manor. Jade started her own business of producing tapestries and embroideries. She would spend her time at home or in her own office in Hogsmeade, weaving designs and often directing her employees with the designs. Slowly and gradually throughout the years, the kids grew and grew into different people. Sometimes they drove Draco and Jade insane to the point where they would stay up the entire night, hoping their migraines would subside.

"Mummy, do you like this house? Look at the floors and bathrooms! Maybe if we have enough money, Daddy can pay me to make our dream house!" Annabelle said.

Annabelle grew up to be as calm and sharp as her mother and as passionate about building like her father. She had long blonde hair and a long sharp nose like Annabelle did, looking strikingly similar. Jade looked down to the print that Annabelle handed her, looking over the blueprint sketch.

"It's a good thing I'm sending you off to an architecture school after Hogwarts." Jade said. Annabelle smiled, adjusting her black rimmed glasses.

"One more year!" she said excitedly. They heard a clutter from the kitchen and Jade craned her neck to get a good view.

"Merthin? Are you all right love?" Jade asked.

"Mum! I think I made the most amazing soup in the world! And Gordon Ramsey might kiss my arse for it!" he said.

"Language Merthin." Jade said. Merthin walked in, holding a bowl of the soup. Just like Annabelle, Merthin became busy with a different passion; cooking. He was always curious to wonder why some foods complimented each other and why others wouldn't. He started to experiment in his early years with his mother and a disgruntled Draco who would have to eat their experiments until they had done it right. Jade didn't have a problem with Merthin cooking since he took over dinner in the kitchen whenever she'd feel too tired to. Jade set down the tapestry she was working with and took the bowl of bright orange and creamy looking soup. She took a spoonful of soup, sipped it and felt like she was going to die a happy and peaceful death.

"How does it taste?" he asked.

"Like an angel dropped it from heaven!" Jade said.

"Oh! Let me taste!" Annabelle said.

The front door opened and Draco barged in, pulling Jenita by the arm.

"Dad! Dad you can't manhandle me like this! I'm 17 years old! I'm practically an adult!" Jenita shrieked.

"And you _practically _live in _my_ house! You snogging that slimy little boy will not be tolerated by me, is that understood?" he asked. Jenita scowled, rubbing her arm.

"What's going on?" Jade asked.

"This is _embarrassing_! I'll never be able to get married and even if I do, I'm going to count on Dad to run everyone away from me!" Jenita screeched.

"Honey, go upstairs to change and wash up." Jade said. Jenita turned around and sprinted up the stairs. Jade turned around to Draco who crossed his arms tightly over his chest.

"I think you went a little too hard on her." Draco said sarcastically.

"She's not a little girl anymore. The more you keep thinking that, the more you'll set yourself up for disappointment. I trust Jen and the kids and you should too; that's the only way you can make them think twice before they do something stupid." Jade said.

"_No_, I don't like the way you go about raising children Jade. In my days-"

"Uh oh, here it goes again." Annabelle said, turning around and leaving.

"Yeah, yeah, Dad used to use belts, flails and all that wonderful stuff but that's not how we deal with our kids." Jade said, taking Draco's arm and kissing his cheek.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side Dad." Merthin said.

"Cut the crap Ramsey and set the table." Draco said, slapping Merthin's back. Jade, Draco, Merthin and Annabelle settled themselves at the table. Jenita walked in and sat down, away from Draco who still looked uncomfortable from the situation.

"Look, your brother made something amazing today!" Jade said, brushing Jenita's hair back.

"All by myself! I even wrote it down in case I become famous and decide to release a cookbook!" Merthin said excitedly.

"Breaking news! This just in, a wild broom chase near the outskirts of London have been reported by Aurors and Aurseizes by the Ministry of Magic! The fugitive, a 115 year old citizen who goes by the name of Muriel Weasley had been stopped by an Auror when he noticed that the senior citizen appeared to be flying under the influence of alcohol. In a brief and embarrassing moment, Muriel Weasley had kicked the on duty Auror in a place where no man, especially me would want to-oh, is that too inappropriate to say on air?" Lee Jordan asked.

"Er-right well, she kicked him _there_ and escaped on to the Auror's broom, fleeting the scene and now is in pursuit by our very own law enforcement. What we didn't tell you was the unfortunate Auror who had experienced the wrath of Muriel Weasley was Ronald Bilius Weasley, her own nephew! If you're hearing this Ron, sorry mate, but I'm being paid to say this-oh, I can't say that either? Well everyone, there you go! We'll be back with more updates on this developing story. For now, you can all help yourselves to hearing an audio clip of the criminal herself that was picked up by the Aurors who are still chasing her." Lee Jordan said.

"Cripes." Jade said, seeing Draco turn red in laughter.

"You fanny wiping -_bleep-_ aren't going to get the best of me! I'm Muriel _–bleep-_ Weasley! I've been alive before your mother and father even saw their own naked-"

"Well we can't air the full audio clip on air. The Ministry will have a dilly if we air the uncensored version in our shows, which isn't _my_ fault-"

"Jordan we can't say that!" an angry voice announced.

"Well then, there you go people. We can't say that either." Jordan said.

"Just turn the radio off, someone." Jade said. Draco turned the radio off, still laughing uproariously.

"Oh that Aunt Muriel…it never gets old. Weasley's never going to come back to the Department again." Draco laughed.

"That woman is bonkers, just the other day she called Dad a chicken…shagger." Merthin said, turning red.

"She calls your grandfather that too. I don't know what the deal is with her, but she has the longest record of assaults, robberies and felonies I've ever seen in my life." Draco said.

"Just pass me the potatoes love and stop talking about her." Jade said, hearing Jenita, Merthin and Annabelle giggle.

* * *

The day after, Merthin, Annabelle and Jenita set off with their luggage and supplies to Platform 9 ¾. Jade, Draco, Lucius and Narcissa helped Merthin, Annabelle and Jenita load their belongings into the storage compartment. After their luggage was stored, they said their final goodbyes to their children for the last year ahead of them.

"Don't try to cook in the Astronomy Tower love." Jade said, hugging Merthin.

"I'll try not to Mum." Merthin said. Jenita hugged her mother tightly and kissed her cheek.

"I love you Mum." She said.

"I love you too Jen. Stay safe and write to me when you can!" Jade said. The train's exhaust went off as a warning for students to depart.

"Bye Mummy!" Annabelle said, hugging Jade.

"Bye love! Good luck with Potions this time." Jade said.

"If Snape can give me a break." Annabelle said.

"Go on and end this year with some dignity please." Draco said. The triplets grinned and set off, waving obediently to their parents and grandparents.

"One more year." Lucius breathed. Jade watched the giant red train start to roll away from the station. She felt Draco's arm around her shoulders and wished that the year would pass by as quickly as it came.

"Ready to go home?" Draco asked as the train disappeared. Jade nodded, squeezing Draco's hand.

After having lunch with Narcissa and Lucius, Jade and Draco went home to retire for the day.

"The kids are gone and we have the house all to ourselves." Draco suggested, wagging his eyebrows. Jade laughed and mounted on top of him.

"It feels like yesterday when the babies were in the other room, crying for a diaper change or for a bottle." Jade said. She kissed his forehead and moved down his lips, kissing him deeply.

"Seventeen years since. We're so old." Draco said. Jade laughed, feeling him get up.

"But I'm happy I sent us off in that Portkey. I got to be with you and even better, I got to marry an evil Squib." He said. Jade burst into laughter as Draco carried her into the bedroom. He set her on the bed and removed her blouse as she undid his pants.

"Seventeen years and _this_ never gets old." Jade giggled.

**A Few Hours Later**

Jade woke up, hearing the doorbell ringing repeatedly. She lifted her head and turned around to the clock reading three in the morning. She turned around, seeing Draco snoring, in deep sleep.

"Oh my God, what in the world is going on?" Jade asked, getting herself out of the bed. The doorbell kept ringing, accompanied by rapid knocks.

"Draco! Draco wake up! There's someone at the door!" Jade said, shaking him awake. Draco woke up with his eyes half closed, looking at Jade if she was out of her mind.

"What the bloody fuck Jade, do you know what time it is?" he asked, seeing her getting dressed.

"Do you fucking hear that? Someone's going to piss on our door if we don't open it! Now get up and put your pants on!" Jade said. She walked out of the bedroom, her arms crossed tightly from the chill in the house. Draco followed, buckling his belt and grabbed a bat in the corner of the room that he used for Quidditch. He opened the door to Dumbledore and Severus Snape. Jade's face fell, knowing that it was bad news from the grave look on their faces.

"What's going on?" Draco asked.

"Mr. Malfoy, Mrs. Malfoy, there has been a terrible incident." Dumbledore started.

"Oh my God, please tell me that my children are all right." Jade said. Dumbledore took a deep breath and continued.

"A group of students have disappeared with an unknown Portkey that a student snuck into the school. Three of the students are your children." Dumbledore informed. Jade put a hand over her chest, feeling her blood pressure spike through the roof.

"Not again…not again." Jade said.

"Is the Portkey still there or did it disappear to wherever the hell it was from?" Draco asked.

"Fortunately the Portkey does not disappear into its destination. The students disappeared during the feast in the Great Hall. Naturally when this happened, we contacted the Ministry and sent a few Aurors along with the Portkey for our students." Dumbledore said.

"I'm going to find them." Jade said, pulling her sweater on.

"I advise you not to go. We do not know where the Portkey might lead and might be just as dangerous, if not more as Castile." Dumbledore said.

"My _kids_ are in danger; I could give a damn about my life." Jade said.

"I agree with Jade. I'm going after my kids as well." Draco said. Dumbledore didn't seem to argue, knowing full well that Jade and Draco would never sit tight and twiddle their thumbs to wait until their kids come home.

"Very well then. We have exactly 5 minutes before the Minister arrives in Hogwarts and takes the Portkey away, preventing all of us from traveling." Dumbledore said.

"Grab your shirt and keys Draco; we're taking a Portkey again." Jade said.

"Merlin, I hate taking Portkeys. Why does this keep happening to us?" he asked. He ran into the bedroom, slipped into his shirt and running shoes. He grabbed the keys and met with Jade, Dumbledore and Snape outside of the house. They apparated into Dumbledore's office where the Portkey, a large black kettle sat on his desk.

"Ready?" Dumbledore asked, tucking his wand into his robes. Jade and Draco let out a short sigh, glancing at each other.

"Not really." Draco said.

"On the count of three, we all grab the Portkey. One." Dumbledore said. Jade's heart started hammering in her chest and she looked over at Draco who had his hand stretched out, over the kettle along with the rest of them.

"Two." Images of Castile flashed through her mind; she could only imagine what would happen this time.

"Three!" Dumbledore bellowed.

Everyone grabbed the kettle. The Headmasters on walls, in their picture frames gasped sharply as they saw Dumbledore, Snape, Jade and Draco disappear as a bright white light exploded in the Headmaster's office. When the light disappeared along with the travelers; all that sat calmly was the black kettle in the Headmaster's office whose origin was unknown except the kettle itself.

* * *

**THE END**

**Much Love, **

**ClassySam =]**


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